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74TH CONGRESS 1
2d Session \
SENATE
/DOCUMENT
I No. 199
THE WESTERN RANGE
LETTER
FROM
THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE
TRANSMITTING
IN RESPONSE TO SENATE RESOLUTION No. 289
A REPORT ON THE WESTERN RANGE A GREAT BUT
NEGLECTED NATURAL RESOURCE
APRIL 24 (calendar day, APRIL 29), 1936. Referred to the
Committee on Agriculture and Forestry and
ordered to be printed with illustrations
UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 1936
LETTERS OF TRANSMITTAL
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,
Washington, April 28, 1936.
The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE.
SIR : In compliance with the request in Senate Resolution 289 (74th
Cong., 2d sess.), introduced by Senator Norris, I have the honor to
submit herewith a report on the range problem of the western United
States prepared by the Forest Service of this Department.
The resolution reads:
Whereas large parts of the western range have been subject to unrestricted
use since Settlement and are commonly believed to be more or less seriously
depleted; and
Whereas the range resource constitutes one of the major sources of wealth
to the Nation ; and
Whereas the Department of Agriculture has through many years of research
and of administration of the national forests accumulated a large amount of
information on the original and present condition of the range resource, the
factors which have led to the present condition, and the social and economic
importance of the range and its conservation to the West and to the entire
United States: Therefore be it
Resolved, That the Secretary of Agriculture be, and hereby is, requested to
transmit to the Senate at his earliest convenience a report incorporating this
information, together with recommendations as to constructive measures.
In transmitting this report I shall resist the temptation, despite
my great personal interest in the range question, to comment at
length on its findings and recommendations, and instead merely
emphasize three of the most important phases of the discussion.
1. The first of these is the astonishing degree to which the western
range resource has been neglected, despite its magnitude and
importance.
One indication of this neglect is the lack of public knowledge.
The general public knows less of the range resource, and as a result
has been and is less concerned about its condition and conservation
than of any other of our important natural resources. This is true
in spite of the fact that the range occupies about two-fifths of the
total land area of the United States and three-fourths of that of the
range country ; that the range territory produces about 75 percent of
the national output of wool and mohair, and in pounds about 55 per-
cent of the sheep and lambs, and nearly one-third of the cattle and
calves. In fact, this report represents the first attempt, although
much of the range has been grazed for 50 years at least, to make an
all-inclusive survey of the range resource, its original and present
condition, the causes and effects of changes, the social and economic
function which it does and should render to the West and to the
Nation, and, finally, to outline practical solutions for at least the
more important problems.
m
iv LETTEKS OP TKANSMITTAL
The entire history of public-land disposal under both Federal and
State laws reflects this neglect. These laws have with few excep-
tions been framed and administered without regard to range condi-
tions and requirements. The result is an ownership pattern so com-
plex that satisfactory handling of the range is seriously handicapped.
In this pattern is intermingled an enormous area that all of the
available information indicates is sujbmarginal for private ownership.
Further evidence of neglect is failure to regulate the use of range
lands in such a way as to maintain the resource. This failure has
been so general under all classes of ownership that in contrast ex-
amples of good management are decidedly conspicuous. The result
is serious and practically universal range and soil depletion, which
already has gone far toward the creation of a permanent desert over
enormous areas. An even more serious result has been an appalling
waste of the human resource. And three-fourths of the range area is
still on the down grade.
The commonly accepted theory that private ownership in itself is
enough of an incentive to insure the satisfactory handling of range
lands has proved to be true only in the case of exceptional ranches.
State range lands have been leased without provision for the man-
agement of the resource or its perpetuation. Federal holdings are
scattered among many bureaus in several departments. The national
forests, which afford an example of large-scale range conservation,
are administered by the Department of Agriculture. The grazing
districts, which are only now being placed under administration after
a half century or more of neglect, and the public domain, which is still
subject to unrestricted use, fall under the Department of the Interior.
These three classes of land make up the bulk of Federal holdings.
Neglect is further shown by the meager scale of research by both the
Federal and State Governments. A reasonable program of research
might have prevented many serious mistakes and maladjustments.
Extension to carry research findings in better range practices to pri-
vate owners has been practically nonexistent.
2. The second phase of the situation to which I wish to call atten-
tion is the fundamental character both of the range resource and of
its use.
They have to do with land; with the production on that land of
forage crops, with the utilization of the crops in livestock and, in a
lesser degree, wildlife production ; with the management of land and
its forage cover to obtain watershed protection and the services needed
primarily by agriculture for irrigation. Effectiveness in all of these
things depends upon the biological and agricultural sciences. In
short, they are a part, and in the West one of the most important
parts, of agriculture.
Furthermore, through the free play of economic forces, range live-
stock production once almost wholly an independent pastoral enter-
prise and cropland agriculture have become closely integrated, in-
separable parts of the agricultural structure of the West. Except for
specialty farms, a high percentage of the hundreds of thousands of
western farm or ranch units represent widely varying combinations
of range and crop agriculture. More than one-third of the feed for
range livestock now comes from croplands or irrigated pastures.
Problems of one part have become problems of both. Major malad-
justments in either of which there are far too many now inevitably
LETTERS OF TRANSMITTAL V
affect the other. No comprehensive program can be prepared for
either which does not take the other definitely into account.
3. The third phase of the range situation to which I wish to call
attention is a limited number of remedial measures of outstanding
importance among the many that are required. The range problem
as a whole has been allowed to drift for so long that its difficulties
have been accentuated. It has become exceedingly broad and com-
plex, beginning with the basic soil resource at the one extreme, and
extending through a wide range of overlapping interrelated problems
to human welfare at the other. No single measure offers hope of
more than a partial solution.
One of the most important of the measures required is to place all
range lands under management that will stop depletion and restore
and thereafter maintain the resource in perpetuity, while at the same
time permitting its use. This will involve many difficult operations
such, for example, as drastic reductions of stock on overgrazed ranges.
It will involve various forms of use such as livestock grazing, water-
shed services, wildlife production, etc., which should be so correlated
as to obtain the maximum private and public benefits.
A second line of action involves the return to public ownership of
lands so low in productivity, or so seriously devastated, or requiring
such large expenditures to protect high public values, that private
owners can hold them only at a loss. Closely related are a far-reach-
ing series of adjustments in size of ownership units to make both
private and public ownership feasible and effective, each in its proper
sphere.
A third line of action is to put jurisdiction over publicly owned
range lands on a sound basis. Unquestionably the only plan which
can be defended is to concentrate responsibility for the administration
of Federal lands in a single department to avoid unnecessary duplica-
tions, excessive expenditures, and fundamental differences in policies,
and to obtain the highest efficiency in administration and the maxi-
mum of service to users. Since the administration of the range
resource and its use is agriculture, and since the administration of
federally owned ranges can and should be used as an affirmative means
in the rehabilitation of western agriculture, the grazing districts and
the public domain should be transferred to the Department of Agri-
culture.
Furthermore, the concentration of jurisdiction over federally owned
range lands is a vitally important step toward the concentration in a
single department of the still more inclusive functions, including aid
and services to private owners of range lands, which should be exer-
cised by the Federal Government on the entire range problem. Such
a concentration is a fundamental principle of good organization if
the Federal Government is to redeem its full responsibility in the
restoration and care of this much-neglected resource.
The States have similar jurisdictional problems which demand
attention.
A fourth measure which should be emphasized is the wide scope
of research necessary to put range use for all purposes on a sound
footing. ^ Closely related is extension, which will carry the informa-
tion obtained to the private owner and help him constructively in its
application.
VI LETTERS OP TBANSMITTAL
With these and other recommendations of the Forest Service, I am
in general accord, and I hope that in carrying them out there need not
be too serious a delay, since further delay will merely serve to accen-
tuate difficulties and increase costs.
The solution of the range problem can be made an important con-
tribution to the conservation of our natural resources. It can be made
an important contribution to the rehabilitation of western agriculture.
Finally, and most important, it can be made an important contribu-
tion to social and economic security and human welfare. Public
neglect is partly responsible for the aggravated character of the range
problem, and this makes all the more urgent and necessary public
action toward its solution.
Respectfully,
H. A. WALLACE, Secretary.
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,
FOREST SERVICE,
Washington, April 28, 1936.
The SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE.
DEAR MR. SECRETARY: I am transmitting herewith the report re-
quested in Senate Resolution 289. This incorporates information
obtained by many years of research on the range and watershed
problems, by special surveys which have been under way for several
years, and by 30 years' administration of the national forests. It
includes the pertinent information now available in the Forest
Service and that which could be obtained from other Federal and
State agencies. It necessarily has the limitations inherent in the
first attempt to treat the range resource as a whole, but it is believed
that its findings are essentially sound.
One of the primary reasons for the neglect, and hence the serious
depletion of the range resource and a series of major maladjust-
ments in land use, has been a division of responsibility among public
agencies. No one Federal agency has been responsible for an all-
inclusive, affirmative handling of the entire range problem. A sim-
ilar situation obtains for every western State in which the range
is an important factor.
If the Federal Government is to redeem its responsibilities, one
of the first and most important needs is, therefore, the concentra-
tion of responsibility in a single Federal department. This should
include responsibility for whatever additional and feasible action
is required to put privately owned range lands in a satisfactory
status. Such concentration affords the only effective way to stop
the depletion of ranges under way for 50 years, and to start them
on the upgrade. Furthermore, such concentration affords the only
effective means to integrate range use soundly with the other forms
of western agriculture of which it is an essential part. Since the
problem is wholly agricultural, concentration must be in the Depart-
ment of Agriculture.
To redeem their obligations, the States must face and meet sim-
ilar problems of jurisdiction and responsibility.
Sincerely yours,
F. A. SILCOX,
Chief, Forest Service.
HIGH LIGHTS
1. The range area of 728 million acres is nearly 40 percent of the
total land area of the continental United States; more than 99 per-
cent is available for livestock grazing.
2. About half the range area, or 376 million acres, is in private
ownership. One-third, or 239 million acres, is Federal range,
divided among national forests, grazing districts, public domain, and
other withdrawals and reservations.
3. Forage depletion for the entire range area averages more than
half ; the result of a few decades of livestock grazing.
4. Range depletion on the public domain and grazing districts
averages 67 percent, on private, Indian, and State and county lands
about half, and on national forests 30 percent.
5. Three-fourths of the entire range area has declined during the
last 30 years, and only 16 percent has improved.
6. During the same period 95 percent of the public domain and
grazing districts has gone downgrade and only 2 percent has im-
proved. For other forms of ownership and control corresponding
figures are : Private lands 85 and 10, State and county lands 88 and 7,
Indian lands 75 and 10, national forests 5 and 77.
7. Only about 95 million acres of the entire range area is in reason-
ably satisfactory condition. Nearly half of the national forest range
and 12 percent of private ownership falls in this category. The rea-
sonably satisfactory areas in other ownerships are inconsequential.
Probably not much over 5 percent of the entire range area is in a
thoroughly satisfactory condition.
8. An outstanding cause of range depletion has been excessive
stocking. Some 17.3 million animal units are now grazed on ranges
which it is estimated can carry only 10.8 million. The removal of
the surplus is the most effective way to stop depletion and start the
range on the upgrade.
9. About seven-tenths, or 523 million acres, of the range area is
still subject to practically unrestricted grazing.
10. Precipitation in the range country averages less than one-
third that of the Middle West and East. One to 4 drought years
out of 10 characterize practically all of the range area. The failure
to recognize in stocking the wide and direct fluctuation of forage
production with precipitation has been one primary cause of
depletion.
11. Among financial handicaps to the range livestock producer,
possibly the most serious, is the marketing differential, mainly
freight, which for Idaho is nearly $8.50 for an 1,100-pound steer in
the Chicago market as compared with Illinois.
12. The one best answer to this and other financial handicaps is
cheap range feed, which costs only one-fifth to one-tenth as much as
hay or other supplemental feed. But serious depletion of range feed
has been practically universal, and heavy supplemental feeding has
been necessary.
vn
VIII HIGH LIGHTS
13. Unsuitable land laws and policies have made the range a be-
wildering mosaic of different kinds of ownerships and of uneconomic
units, which together constitute a serious obstacle to range manage-
ment and profitable livestock production.
14. Range livestock production was once almost wholly pastoral.
Thirty-five percent of the feed for western livestock is now supple-
mental feeds raised on croplands or irrigated pastures a threefold
increase in 45 years. Except for highly specialized crop farming,
mostly on irrigated land, western agriculture is now primarily an
integration of range livestock grazing and crop farming.
15. Excluding irrigation improvements, the 1930 census values
farm lands and buildings, privately owned range lands, and farm
and range livestock, etc., at nearly 12.9 billion dollars.
16. Most spectacular among the maladjustments of range-land use
has been the attempt to use more than 50 million acres for dry-land
farming. About half, ruined for forage production for years to come,
has already been abandoned for cultivation, much of it even before
going to patent.
IT. A more serious but much less spectacular maladjustment has
been the private acquisition of many million acres, either submar-
ginal for private ownership as shown by high tax delinquency and
relief rolls, abandonment, etc., or having high public values for
watershed protection which private owners cannot maintain, or both.
18. Four-fifths of the 232 million acres which yield 85 percent of
the water of the major western streams is range land, and low pre-
cipitation makes water the limiting factor in nearly all western
development.
19. No less than 589 million acres of range land is eroding more or
less seriously, reducing soil productivity and impairing watershed
services. Three-fifths of this area is adding to the silt load of major
western streams.
20. It will probably require more than 50 years of management to
restore the depleted range sufficiently to carry even the 17.3 million
livestock units now grazed, and probably an additional 50 years to
restore it to the nearest possible approach to its original grazing
capacity of 22.5 million units.
21. Action of greatest immediate urgency and importance is to
Stop soil and forage depletion, and start both on the upgrade ;
Reduce excessive stocking, place all range lands under man-
agement, and restore cheap range feed;
Rectify land ownership and use maladjustments, and obtain a
sound distribution of ownership between private and public
agencies ;
Build up economic private and public units ;
Balance and integrate crop and range use ;
Correlate the livestock, watershed, forest, wildlife, and recrea-
tion forms of range-land uses and services ;
Obtain a recognition of the responsibility of stewardship by
private owners;
Minimize or remove various financial handicaps of stock pro-
ducers ;
HIGH LIGHTS IX
[Reconcile range conservation and the financial needs of State
institutions ;
Solve the tax delinquency problem;
Place public lands under the supervision of agricultural
agencies as a step toward unification of public responsibility for
the entire range problem. Provide on such lands for a sound
distribution of grazing privileges, and prevent the establishment
of prescriptive rights;
Obtain and apply the information necessary for the conserva-
tion and wise use of the range resource;
Prevent human wastage and insure social and economic
security.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The preparation of this report has largely been a group effort in
which a large number of Forest Service employees have participated.
Authorship credited under the various titles only partially indicates
the contribution made by these authors, who for the most part have
also given a large amount of time and effort to the technical review
and constructive criticism of sections other than their own.
The following employees whose names do not appear as authors
contributed in such ways as the compilation of data and the
preparation of material for the report, or in the critical review of
manuscripts, or in an advisory capacity :
C. A. Anderson, John Bancker, Miss Frances L. Beckwith, Dr.
Miriam L. Bomhard, Miss Theo Campbell, George H. Dacy, Jerry
Dahl, W. A. Dayton, E. L. Demmon, K. M. De Nio, L. A. Dremolski,
E. J. Dyksterhius, Miss Doris Hayes, C. F. Hunn, E. W. Kelley, R. F.
Knoth, Albert Pierson, Dr. Oran Raber, C. E. Rachford, R. V. Rey-
nolds, C. S. Robinson, Marshall Thayer, R. S. Wallace, J. C. Whitham.
The statistical and much of the other basic material was organized
under the supervision of Arthur Upson.
A still larger group at the western forest and range experiment
stations, regional offices, and on the national forests has over a period
of several years collected the large volume of data which has consti-
tuted the main basis for the report.
In addition, a considerable number of Government units, both
within and without the Department of Agriculture, have cooperated
generously in supplying needed information ; among these, acknowl-
edgment is due especially to the Agricultural Adjustment Adminis-
tration, the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, the Bureau of
Biological Survey, the Farm Credit Administration, the Rural Reset-
tlement Administration, the Weather Bureau, and the Bureau of the
Census. The ready cooperation of the State agricultural experiment
stations in a number of the Western States was also of great assistance.
THE WESTERN RANGE
A GREAT BUT NEGLECTED NATURAL RESOURCE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
I. The major range problems and their solution A re'sume' 1
Major findings 3
Serious range depletion practically universal 3
Depletion resulted from a few outstanding causes 9
Range use an integral part of western agriculture 16
Serious social and economic losses 19
Range conservation the exception 29
Resilience of range livestock production 35
Drastic remedial action required 37
To restore and maintain the range 41
For private lands and livestock 45
In public land administration 51
In research and extension 59
In legislation 61
Costs and returns 63
The key to remedial action 66
Is remedial action worth while? 67
If no action is taken 67
The benefits from restoration 68
II. The virgin range 71
A detailed picture of virgin range types 72
What the range resource offered a growing Nation 80
III. The white man's toll 81
Forage depletion in the principal range types 84
A century's toll in "free use" of the range 108
IV. How and why 117
History of range use 119
The great boom in range cattle, 1880-85 119
Genesis of the boom 120
The collapse of the boom 122
Recovery striving for security on the cattle range 123
Increase in sheep accentuated bitter struggle for range 125
Settlement intensifies tendency to range depletion 127
Establishment of public-land control a stabilizing f actor. __ 129
World War boom and post-war depression bring heavy de-
mands on range 130
Drought added to excess stocking works havoc on range __ 131
Issues growing out of range-use history 132
Climatic fluctuations 135
Climatic fluctuations on western ranges 135
Seasonal fluctuations 136
Drought years 138
The menace in a recurrence of dry years 139
Progressive deficiencies 141
Corresponding fluctuations in range vegetation 142
Range forage production declines in dry years 143
Effect of dry seasons on grazing use 145
Vegetative stand decreases after drought 145
Cyclic fluctuations in vegetative growth 147
Climatic guides to permanent range use 148
Excessive stocking 151
Evidence of excessive stocking 152
Numbers of livestock within range area 153
Numbers of livestock on range and other feed 154
Evidence afforded by range deterioration itself 161
Evidence afforded by present stocking and estimated
grazing capacity- ._ 164
Evidence afforded by serious losses and unsatisfactory
production 165
XI
XII TABLE OF CONTENTS
IV. How and why Continued.
Excessive stocking-<k)ntinued.
Causes of excessive stocking 168
Competition for range 168
Stockmen believe profits depend on numbers 168
Permitting ranges to suffer to reduce expenses 169
Stocking on basis of better years 169
Restocking too soon after drought 169
Pressure on public range officials 169
Some agencies have not faced their conservation re-
sponsibility 170
Lack of realization of consequences 170
Overcoming excessive stocking not insurmountable 171
Rule-of-thumb management 173
Harmful practices evolved by rule-of -thumb 173
Too many animals on the range 173
Faulty distribution of livestock 174
Improper season of use injures the range 177
Poor balance between classes of animals and type of
range 178
The effect of burning on forage production 179
Combined effects of unsound rule-of- thumb practices 180
Reasons for development of rule-of -thumb practices 182
The lag in research and extension 185
Appraisal of range research and extension 185
Duration of the work 185
Character of investigations 186
Expenditures 187
Number of workers 188
Range extension 188
Examples of neglected unsolved problems of range restora-
tion and management 189
Problems of grazing capacity 189
The role of vegetation in watershed protection 190
Key forage plants 190
Artificial revegetation 191
Interplay of animal factors in their effect on range 191
Need for simple usable measures of range condition 192
Many other unsolved problems 192
The net result a concluding appraisal 192
Financial handicaps 193
The relation of capital investments to profits and range
depletion 193
The relation of production costs to profits and range deple-
tion 197
Credit facilities and their relation to profits and range
depletion 201
The bankers' viewpoint 203
Marketing and its relationship to profits and range deple-
tion 205
Profits 208
Key financial problems 209
Markets 209
Credits 210
Erroneous financial philosophy 210
High land values 211
Unsuitable land policy 213
Introduction 213
The period of disposal 215
The homestead laws 216
Enlarged homestead acts 220
The grazing homestead law 221
Land script, mineral laws, and other acts 226
Railroad and other internal improvement grants 226
Status of lands remaining in public ownership 230
Texas lands 230
State grants 231
Indian lands 234
Remaining public domain 236
TABLE OF CONTENTS XIII
IV. How and why Continued. p age
Unsuitable land policy Continued.
Reasons for delay in adopting a constructive range-land
policy 236
The effects of past land policy 238
Effect on present range-land ownership 238
Effect on the range resource 245
The problems which arise from land ownership 246
Simplification of ownership pattern 246
Division into economic units 247
Taxation 247
Responsibility for restoration 248
Range conservation the exception 249
The national forests - 249
Establishment of the national forests 251
Aims and objectives in administration 253
Multiple use of resources 254
Administration of range use 255
Development and application of range management. __ 258
Obstacles and problems in range management 264
Range distribution policy 267
Net results of 30 years of range administration. _ 274
Indian lands 278
Indian range resources 278
Administration of Indian range 280
Special handicaps in administration 282
Wheeler-Howard Act 283
Problems 284
The grazing districts 285
Favorable features of the Grazing Act 286
Shortcomings of the Grazing Act 286
Conservation on privately owned range 294
West of the Great Plains 295
The Great Plains 297
The sandhills of Nebraska 299
Privately owned range lands in and adjacent to national
forests 299
Factors which have favored range conservation 300
V. Its social and economic function 301
In watershed protection
Watersheds of the virgin range 303
The flood and erosion menace of recent years 305
Floods 306
Erosion 308
Causes of accelerated erosion and floods _ 314
Climate 314
Soils 315
Topography 315
Vegetation. 316
Ownership or control of land as a contributing factor in
accelerating run-off and erosion 325
The economic and social consequence of accelerated run-off
erosion 326
Soil fertility destroyed 327
Irrigation water supply and improvements threatened. 328
Costly floods _._-____ 335
Municipal watersheds - 335
Water power depends on continuous stream flow .___ 336
Recreation and wildlife resources imperiled 336
"Black blizzards" of the plains spread destruction 336
Contrasting watershed and grazing values 337
The way out restoration 338
As a home for wildlife 341
The wildlife problem 341
Wildlife a product of environment 341
How reduction in range area and its depletion reduced
wildlife 342
Restriction of area available for wildlife 343
XIV TABLE OF CONTENTS
V. Its social and economic function Continued.
As a home for wildlife Continued
Range depletion 344
Other changes in habitat 346
Effect of environmental changes intensified by overutiliza-
tion of wildlife resource 348
Reduced wildlife presents an important and neglected
problem 349
Defects in theories adopted in wildlife conservation 351
Wildlife not regarded as a crop 351
Wildlife treated apart from environment 352
Wildlife refuges not universal solution 353
Transplanting of wildlife 354
Lack of basic knowledge of wildlife a handicap 355
Wildlife administration not handled as a biological
Sroblem 355
dlife management under legal pattern self-defeat-
ing 355
Vital importance of environment proved by national-
forest experiment 355
Major problems in wildlife management
In supplying areas for recreation . 363
The social need 363
Economic considerations 365
The elements of recreational value in the western range
States , __ 368
The lesson of the national parks and national forests
Future requirements
As an integrated pait of western agriculture 377
Introduction 377
The magnitude of western agriculture 378
Diverse patterns of western agriculture 379
Specialized crop farming 379
Crop farming and range livestock grazing 379
Regional characteristics of crop- and range-land agri-
culture.-.. 386
Dependent population 391
Metropolitan business centers. 393
Bonds between western agriculture and the Middle West
and South 393
Effects of maladjusted land uses and of range depletion 394
Dry farming or range husbandry 394
Other maladjustments 398
Effects of range depletion on integrated western agri-
culture 400
Range land submarginal for private ownership 411
Naturally low productive capacity of the range 411
Drought or other climatic hazards 412
Accessibility to market 412
Taxes and tax delinquency 413
Cost of restoration and rehabilitation 414
Use of public range concealed submarginality 414
Unsatisfactory social conditions 415
Other considerations 415
Greater security possible from balanced agriculture 415
The problem of integration of western agriculture 418
VI. Program...... _____ 419
The probable future use and ownership of range lands 421
The problems of use 421
The background 421
The problem of uneconomically cropped land 422
The problem of coordinating range use with the national
agricultural-adjustment and land-use programs 423
Other use adjustment problems 423
The problems of private ownership 424
Ownership pattern causes, effects, and responsibility . , 424
Why should the public be interested? 425
The solution must be a joint undertaking of private and
public ownership - 427
TABLE OF CONTENTS XV
VI. Program Continued.
The probable future use and ownership of range lands Con.
The problem of private ownership Continued Paff
The possible means of public assistance to strengthen
private range-land ownership 427
Inadequacy of data prevents accurate determination of
size of problems 432
Estimated shifts in range lands submarginal for private
ownership ._ 433
The basis for estimating needed shifts from private to
public ownership 433
Rating of opportunity for private management in
different forage types 436
Prospective public acquisition 438
Estimated shifts in private range lands with high public
values 440
To restore and conserve watershed values 440
To protect wildlife 444
To round out national forests and grazing districts 445
The net area to be acquired 445
Change in usable range area 446
Problems of public ownership 447
The problem of unreserved Federal range lands 447
The problem of State-owned range lands 447
The problem of tax-reverted lands 447
Division of responsibility between States and Federal
Government in range-land ownership 448
The process of solution of ownership and use problems 449
The administration of public range lands 451
National forests and grazing-district lands 4 52
Multiple use of resources 453
Range management 455
Integration of public range lands with agriculture 457
Intermingled lands and isolated tracts 460
Boundary adjustments 462
Machinery of administration 462
Costs and returns 465
Unification of range administration in one department 467
Correlation in administration 467
Why the Forest Service is in the Department of Agri-
culture 467
Relation of Federal range to other agricultural re-
sources 468
Forest and range land management a function of agri-
culture 469
Functions of the Department of Agriculture 470
Functions of the Department of the Interior 471
Department of Agriculture best fitted to administer
Federal forest and range lands__. ... 471
Program for Indian range land 473
Range conservation 474
Machinery of range administration 475
Multiple use 475
Range improvements 476
Net results of program 477
State, county, and municipal range lands 477
Legislation needed 481
Private ownership land and livestock 483
Present condition of private lands 483
What private and public agencies can do to stabilize private
ownership 483
Stewardship of land 484
Submarginal lands 485
Development of sound economic units 487
Inflationary land values 491
Range management, animal husbandry, and game
management. 492
Control of production ._ 495
XVI TABLE OF CONTENTS
VI. Program Continued.
Private ownership land and livestock Continued.
What private and public agencies can do to stabilize private
ownership Continued.
Markets 496
Credits 496
Taxation 497
Research and extension 498
Improving rural social and economic conditions 498
The management of range lands 501
A program for domestic livestock production 503
Systems of grazing 503
Range rehabilitation 504
Pests, diseases, and poisonous plant eradication 506
Grazing capacity 507
Proper season of use 510
Class of stock 511
Distribution of stock 511
Need for management plans 513
Potential contribution from the range 514
A program for watershed protection 515
Restoration during grazing use usually sufficient 515
Artificial erosion control needed in some cases 516
Responsibility for watershed protection 517
A program for wildlife 518
Jurisdictional problems 519
Refuges and santuaries 519
A program for recreation 521
A program for forest ranges 522
Additional information A basic need 522
Research and extension program 523
Why range research and extension? 523
Major lines of research required 524
Range management 524
Artificial revegetation 52 7
Watershed management 528
Range economics 529
Wildlife 529
Animal husbandry 530
Entomology 530
Coordinated research 530
Extension 531
Responsibility for and cost of research and extension re-
quired 531
Present expenditures 532
Proposed expenditures 533
Legislation and costs 535
Problems requiring Federal legislative action 535
Problems affecting public domain and grazing districts.- 535
Problems of transferring private lands to Federal
ownership 538
Simplification of boundary changes 541
Problems in Federal assistance to private owners 542
The problem of managing wildlife on Federal lands 544
Problems requiring State legislative action 544
The joint problem of State and Federal Governments to
work cooperatively _ 548
Costs __ __ 548
The job on Federal lands 549
The job on State and county lands 552
The job on private lands 553
Research and extension 554
Literature cited 557
Appendix 567
Southern forest ranges 567
Alaska 581
Range types 599
Range species referred to in the report 600
Index.. 605
I. THE MAJOR RANGE PROBLEMS AND THEIR SOLUTION
A RESUME
By EAKLB H. CLAPP, Associate Chief, Forest Service
The western range has never been fully and clearly recognized
as one of our great natural resources along with forests, soil, wildlife,
coal, oil, iron, and other minerals.
It is not surprising, therefore, that the intrinsic value and im-
portance of the range resource to the West and to the entire country
has been seriously underestimated or entirely overlooked. Neither
is it surprising that the general public, many conservationists, and
even many western stockmen have no real appreciation of the ex-
tent to which the range has been neglected and abused, what the
consequences have been, and how these consequences have already
affected and will in the future continue to affect human welfare.
Outside of the range country the general public and even many
conservationists have gained much of what they know from fiction.
They have a hazy, distorted picture of the glamour of the cattle
country, of something far removed, unique, and picturesque which
they recognize as having colored all western thought and life.
The western stockman has been too close and too much a part of
all that has happened fully to grasp results, trends, and causes.
The changes in the resource, ordinarily deterioration, have often been
too insidious and too obscure to divert attention from what seemed
to be the immediate and compelling problems of livelihood under
strenuous competition which all too often in the early days became
open warfare. If he has known and cared, he has often been the
victim of circumstances over which, regardless of how he struggled,
he had little control. Or he has coupled his recognition with an
incorrigible optimism which counted on plentiful rains in the season
to come, or a turn in the market to make everything right in his
livestock business and also with the range itself.
Under such cirumstances only the inspired leadership which has
stirred the public to action on some other resources could have been
effective, and such leadership has been conspicuously absent.
Piecemeal attacks on the range problem have been made in the
past, but this report has been prepared in the belief that only a com-
prehensive attack on the entire range problem will suffice. Many
conditions, forces, and problems are common to the entire western
range country. Only through consideration of the whole is it possi-
able to obtain a background and a grasp which will permit sound
and lasting remedial action. 1
1 The report Is based on a large amount of information already available in the Forest
Service, together with that which could be obtained readily from State, Federal, and
other agencies, and, where time permitted, by special surveys. Where exact informa-
tion was not available the best approximations possible under the circumstances have
been made. While great accuracy cannot be claimed for these it is believed that the
findings are substantially correct.
6494636 2 1
THE WESTERN RANGE
Furthermore, such consideration must begin with the forage and
soil which constitute the range resource itself, take into account
their original and present condition, and how they have been and
should be used. It should extend into the now closely related crop
agriculture and devote at least passing notice to dependent or closely
related services and activities. It must, however, have human beings
and their permanent welfare as its chief concern and end objective.
Obviously no attempt could be made to cover all American agri-
culture of which western range and crop lands are a part. As the
broader problems of American agriculture are worked out, the solu-
tions will undoubtedly reflect into and modify in greater or less
degree the conclusions reached in this survey.
The western range is largely open and unfenced, with control of
stock by herding; where fenced, relatively large units are enclosed.
bT-
>~ -J. ,1
) <
/ !
hi
r J-X.
7 !
S I
^ Y s-
J \~~-
"i i i
The Range Area
^\ t; ^>^"^^^ L \
\ jf 'Boundary of X {
X^ Range Territory \j
FIGURE 1. THE RANGE AREA.
The 728 million-acre range area discussed in this report, roughly three-fourths of the
land area west of an irregular line extending south through the Dakotas to Mexico
and nearly 40 percent of the total land area of the United States, is an indication of
the magnitude of the range problem.
It supports with few exceptions only native grasses and other forage
plants, is never fertilized or cultivated, and can in the main be
restored and maintained only through control of grazing. It con-
sists almost exclusively of lands which, because of relatively meager
precipitation or other adverse climatic conditions, or rough topog-
raphy, or the lack of water for irrigation, cannot successfully be
used for any other form of agriculture.
In contrast, the improved pastures of the East and Middle West
receive an abundant precipitation, are ordinarily fenced, utilize
introduced forage species, follow cultivation for other crops, are
often fertilized to increase productivity, and are renewed following
deterioration.
THE MAJOR RANGE PROBLEMS 6
The range area covered in this report lies to the west of an irregular
north and south line which cuts through the Dakotas, Nebraska,
Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas (fig. 1). The range area aggregates
some 728 million acres out of a total land area of 975 million acres.
Discussions of the southern and Alaskan ranges are included in the
appendix.
The Forest Service is charged with the responsibility for the
administration of some 88 million acres of grazable land within
the western national forests, of which 94 percent is available for
livestock. The national forest ranges are a much more important
link in the western range problem than their acreage alone indicates.
The impact upon their administration of a group of increasingly
serious problems growing out of other range lands in the public
domain, in the grazing districts now being formed under the provi-
sions of the Taylor Grazing Act, and in private and in State or other
public ownerships, as well as problems in the closely related crop
agriculture, has forced the survey which has resulted in this report.
Such action has been essential in order to safeguard the fundamental
conservation principles which underlie national forest administra-
tion and even the integrity of the national forests themselves.
MAJOR FINDINGS
There is perhaps no darker chapter nor greater tragedy in the his-
tory of land occupancy and use in the United States than the story
of the western range. First it was "the Great American Desert", a
vast and trackless waste, a barrier to the gold fields. Unexpectedly
and almost overnight it became the potential source of great wealth
from livestock grazing. And therein lies the key to the story. All
of the major findings which constitute the first part of this discus-
sion have their origin in the effort to capitalize this wealth and
convert it to human use.
SERIOUS RANGE DEPLETION PRACTICALLY UNIVERSAL
The major finding of this report at once the most obvious and
obscure is range depletion so nearly universal under all conditions
of climate, topography, and ownership that the exceptions serve
only to prove the rule.
The existing range area has been depleted no less than 52 percent
from its virgin condition, using depletion in the sense of reduction
in grazing capacity for domestic livestock. Practically this means
that a range once capable of supporting 22.5 million animal units 2
can now carry only 10.8 million.
On nearly 55 percent of the entire range area, forage values have
been reduced by more than half.
2 1 animal unit as used in the report is 1 cow, horse, or mule, or 5 sheep, goats, or
swine.
THE WESTERN KANGE
Of the four classes used in evaluating the degree of depletion, ma-
terial (26-50 percent) and severe (51-75 percent) are most extensive,
as shown by fig. 2 and table 3, each covering more than one-third of
the total range area. Extreme (76-100 percent) covers a little more
than 15 percent, and moderate (0-25 percent) somewhat less.
Boundary of
Range Territory
1
DEPLETION
;:] Moderate Illllll
Material Rl Extreme
300
FIGURE 2. RANGE DEPLETION CLASSES.
Of the depletion classes, material (26-50 percent) and severe (51-75 percent) cover
more than seven-tenths of the entire range area. Nearly 120 million acres is in the
extreme (76-100 percent) depletion class, and of the 95 million acres in the moderate
(0-25 percent) depletion class probably not more than half is in a thoroughly satis-
factory condition.
The depletion consists of the disappearance largely or altogether
from many parts of the range of such valuable forage plants as the
bluebunch wheatgrass, the giant wild-rye, ricegrass, dropseed, saca-
ton, and California oatgrass. It consists of the replacement of
palatable and nutritious plants such as prairie beardgrass and sand-
THE MAJOE BANGE PKOBLEMS
grass by the unpalatable sand sagebrush and yucca, wild-rye by
greasewood, winterfat by shadscale and rabbitbrush. It consists
also of the replacement of perennial grasses by much less nutritious
annual grasses and weeds. It consists of the invasion of foreign
plants, such as the worthless star thistle in California, the nearly
worthless Russian thistle now found everywhere, the poisonous Kla-
math weed, and only a few of limited value, such as cheatgrass for
Southern
Desert Shrub
Salt-Desert
Shrub
Pinon-Juniper
Woodland-
Chaparral _
Open Forests
200
150 100 50
MILLION ACRES
25 50
PERCENT
FIGURE 3. AREA AND DEPLETION OP THE RANGE TYPES.
All range types except two are depleted by half or more. Of the two, tall grass is small
in area and reflects especially favorable conditions, and the open forest benefits from a
large area under national forest management.
only a few weeks each year, and the alfileria of southern Arizona
and California, for a few weeks in wet years.
Still further, depletion consists of marked reduction in density of
the better forage plants, with the perennial gramas and fescues as
an example. The ordinarily desirable thickening of forests by re-
production and the expansion of brush areas has to some extent also
reduced the space for forage plants.
What is true of the range as a whole is also true of the 10 broad
types (figs. 25, 30, and 34) into which it has been divided for the
purposes of this report, as shown in table 1 and figure 3.
6
THE WESTERN RANGE
TABLE 1. Area of range types ana forage depletion
Types
Areas
Depletion
Tall grass
1,000 acres
18, 513
Percent
21
Short grass
198,092
49
Pacific bunchgrass .. .
42,534
51
Semidesert grass
89, 274
55
Sagebrush grass
96 528
67
Southern desert shrub _--.-. ________ .. _ _
26, 896
62
Salt-desert shrub
40, 858
71
Pinon-juniper
76,728
60
Woodland-chaparral _ _
13,406
50
Open forest
126 367
33
Total
i 728, 196
52
Does not include 1,217,000 acres in national parks.
The salt-desert shrub type, reduced by 71 percent, and the tall
grass, by 21 percent, constitute the extremes. Furthermore, nearly
three-fourths of the tall-grass type is in the moderate depletion
class, and nine-tenths of the area of the salt-desert shrub is in the
Public Domain &
Grazing Districts
300 200 100
MILLION ACRES
FIGURE 4. ABBA AND DEPLETION BY OWNERSHIPS.
Ranges of all ownerships and forms of control except the national forests have been
depleted by half or more. The national forests 30 years ago were probably in even
worse condition than the public domain then was because of the comparative abundance
of water on the national forests and of the general shortage of summer range.
severe- and extreme-depletion classes. The salt-desert shrub, sage-
brush grass, southern-desert shrub, and piiion- juniper ranges now
rate about a third of the virgin range.
The reductions in productivity are all the more staggering
because of the magnitude of the areas involved.
Ownership, first nearly all Federal, has become more than half
private (table 2 and fig. 4).
THE MAJOR RANGE PROBLEMS 7
TABLE 2. Range areas and depletion by ownerships
Ownership or control
Range area
Deple-
tion
Area avail-
able for
range use
Federal:
/, 000 acres
87, 954
127, 792
48, 391
22, 997
65, 516
375, 546
Percent
12
17
7
3
9
52
Percent
30
67
51
63
49
51
/,000 acres
82,538
127, 792
48,391
21,599
65, 084
375, 546
Public domain grazing districts - --
Other - -
Private - -- -
Total ---
728, 196
100
52
720, 950
As might be expected, both ownership, and the form of control
within ownership, have had a marked influence on depletion. The
UPGRADE OR UNCHANGED
National Forests-
Public Domain and
Grazing Districts..
State and County-
All Ownerships
75 50 25 25 50 75
TOTAL AREA IN OWNERSHIP (PERCENT)
FIGUKB 5. DEPLETION TRENDS OF THE LAST 30 YEARS.
The contrast between the national forests and other forms of ownership or control is in
essence a contrast between an attempt at range conservation and practically unre-
stricted use.
Federal public domain, a no man's land without management prior
to the creation of the grazing districts, is in the worst condition, with
depletion of 67 percent. Very surprisingly, fee-simple private own-
ership has been so little of an incentive to the preservation of the
range resource that depletion stands at 51 percent. Indian, State,
and county holdings have fared no better than private lands. Na-
tional-forest ranges make the best showing, but despite 30 years'
management are still 30 percent below virgin conditions.
Whether range conditions are on the up or down grade may be
even more significant than the extent of present depletion. Here
also the public domain has the blackest record, with nearly 95 per-
cent of the total area depreciating during the last 30 years and only
2 percent improving (fig. 5). Over three-fourths of the
8
THE WESTERN KANGE
forest range has improved during the same period and only 5 per-
cent has declined. For all other ownerships, largely private lands,
from 75 to 88 percent have declined and 7 to 10 percent improved
in value. Of all classes of ownership and forms of control only
the national forests show any appreciable gain in range conditions.
In a nutshell, the white man's toll of the western range for 50
years, or for less than 100 at the outside, is reduced grazing capacity
of more than half. Still further, 76 percent of the entire range has
declined appreciably during the last 30 years and only 16 percent
has improved (fig. 6).
The virgin range was characterized by wide differences in its vege-
tation because of marked climatic, soil, topographic, and other varia-
tions to be expected in an area of such size. The vegetation ranged
all the way from the dense sod of the tall-grass prairies with grass
under the most favorable conditions as high as a horse's back, to the
TREND
RANGE AREA
Upgrade __
Stationary.
Downgrade.
200
MILLION ACRES
400
600
FIGURE 6. THIRTY-YEAR TRENDS IN RANGE CONDITION.
Range resource history of the last 30 years may be summed up in continuing depletion
of more than three-fourths of the entire area, but improvement on less than one-sixth.
low, sparse, scattered clumps of the southern desert shrub. But
nearly all ranges produced an abundance of palatable and nutritious
plants suitable for pasturage, many of which held their values in
curing on the stem.
Before white settlement, the range was used only by game, the
great numbers of which are attested by the reports of all the early
explorers. Despite these numbers and climatic cycles, and drought
periods which were undoubtedly as severe as any of recent years, the
range did maintain itself, except for natural variation and for local-
ized and temporary overgrazing, and would have continued to dp so
if the white man had not upset its natural and fairly stable equilib-
rium. Truly, man has shown less wisdom and vision in the use of
the range resource than did uncontrolled nature. His greatest
achievement seems to have been the removal of the natural checks
and balances which had maintained the virgin range over thousands
of years.
THE MAJOR RANGE PROBLEMS 9
DEPLETION RESULTED FROM A FEW OUTSTANDING CAUSES
FROM THE TRADITIONAL AMERICAN ATTITUDE
A second major finding is a clarification of the causes of the
deterioration and destruction of the range. Outstanding among the
causes has been the traditional American attitude toward all natural
resources. The exuberance of the American spirit has manifested
itself, among other ways, in the lavish use of all the great natural
resources with which the United States has been so richly endowed.
The philosophy of inexhaustibility and its corollary that no pro-
vision need be made for either wise use or perpetuation has been
almost universal, and as a result all have been wasted or destroyed
with all the resourcefulness and ingenuity of a virile people. Other
peoples have destroyed their natural resources but none have shown
greater efficiency in the process. Like most other resources, the
range seemed limitless. For years it was free and an enormous area
still is. To a greater or less extent livestock grazing was once re-
garded as a transitional phase of land use which would lead to a
more intensive development, and this minimized the need for care
of the resource. To the western stockman livestock production has
been very largely a business in which for one reason or another
profit has been the compelling motive. Immediate profit loomed
so large that care and restraint seemed far-fetched and visionary.
For such reasons as these the conservation of the forage and soil
resource has been largely in the background. It should be recog-
nized that most of the other causes of depletion outlined hereafter
go back fundamentally to this traditional attitude.
FROM RULE-OF-THUMB MANAGEMENT
The American immigrant brought with him a traditional knowl-
edge of crop agriculture worked out over many centuries under com-
parable European conditions. The western pioneer frequently had
the background of adaptations of this knowledge to American con-
ditions following years of trial in the East and Middle West.
To the western pioneer, however, the grazing of the western range
was an entirely new form of agriculture. Its use by two or three
generations of stockmen has afforded far too short a time to develop
satisfactory management by large-scale trial and error. The com-
plex biological relationships between plants themselves, between
plants, climate, and soils, and between forage and grazing animals
were beyond the ken of the range user.
Despite this, however, the resourceful and self-reliant stockman
felt absolute confidence in his own ability to meet all requirements,
and he neither asked for nor, except in a minor degree, received
the benefits of research into range-management problems, the only
other means of acquiring the necessary information. Research in
consequence has been meager, has among Federal agencies been
concentrated largely in three bureaus of the Department of Agri-
culture, has at the State agricultural experiment stations dealt
largely with animal husbandry and range economics, and has in
general lagged far behind requirements.
In the complex problem which we are more and more recognizing
range use to be, and without the benefits of technical knowledge, the
stockman has inevitably gone seriously wrong.
10
THE WESTERN RANGE
Lacking a sound basis for judging grazing capacity he has over-
stocked the range almost from the start. How else explain the
depletion of the range as a whole by more than half? Climate is the
only other possible explanation, and there is more evidence that the
western climate has not changed than that it has. Furthermore,
there are many specific examples of well-managed ranges on which
forage conditions have improved, while adjacent overstocked ranges
with identical climate have deteriorated.
After taking into account supplemental feeds and irrigated pas-
tures, which supported 17 percent of the range livestock in 1900 and
38 percent in 1935, the number on range lands reached peaks of
approximately 19.9 and 20.7 million animal units in 1900 and 1920,
respectively. Since 1920 there has been a declining tendency, with a
sharp drop to about 17.3 million animal units in 1935, a reduction of
about 17 percent since 1920.
The range portion of the Plains States, the 11 far Western States
as a group, and most of them separately, show similar downward
trends from different peak years.
LIVESTOCK NOW ON RANGE
PRESENT GRAZING CAPACITY
6 12
MILLION ANIMAL UNITS
FIGURE 7. EXCESSIVE STOCKING
Excessive stocking has been one of the prime factors in range depletion, and until about
6.5 million animal units of surplus stock are removed the range will continue on the
downgrade.
The downward trends do not in themselves tell the whole story,
because many herds are being carried on a bare maintenance basis by
subsisting chiefly on low-value plants. Overgrazing for an extended
period destroys the choicest range species first, and the livestock turn
progressively to the poorer and poorer plants which, although grazed,
are not as nutritious as the original vegetation. Accordingly the
full extent of damage to the range often has not been fully reflected
in decreased grazing capacity. Overgrazing has left its earmarks
in the scarcity of the choicest range plants and the predominance of
low-value and worthless plants, in dead or partly dead stumps or
stubby branches of shrubs, in noticeable damage to tree reproduction,
and in erosion and barren soil. Such earmarks are now conspicuous
on several hundred million acres of range lands and particularly
on those depleted in excess of 50 percent.
If any other evidence of excessive stocking is required it is neces-
sary only to compare the 17.3 million animal units dependent on the
range in 1935 with the estimated grazing capacity of 10.8 million
animal units (fig. 7). In other words, it would be necessary to
THE MA JOE RANGE PROBLEMS 11
reduce present stocking by nearly 38 percent to meet the actual graz-
ing capacity. Even humid pastures could not stand up under such
abuse; it is far too much to expect of semiarid ranges.
But the evidence of overstocking does not stop even here. Aver-
age annual death losses on overstocked and overgrazed ranges of
as much as 9 percent among sheep and 5 to 7 percent among cattle
are practically double the losses under conservative grazing and
good feed. Calf crops on overstocked, overgrazed ranges are often
only a half or two-thirds of what they are under good conditions.
Other specific evidence, historical and otherwise, of overstocking
and depletion, could be multiplied almost indefinitely.
And overstocking is only one, and the most serious, of the de-
fective rule-of-thumb forms of management which have hastened
and accentuated depletion. Poor distribution of livestock, concen-
tration on key areas such as mountain meadows and around water-
ing places, grazing at the wrong time of year, faulty balance between
classes of animals and type of range, grazing two or more classes
on ranges already overstocked with one, have contributed in varying
degree and very largely in the aggregate.
When the stockman realized what rule-of-thumb practices were
doing to the range, he often was, or thought he was, under the
compulsion of other causes which stayed his hand.
FROM AN UNSOUND LAND POLICY
A national land policy unsuited to the semiarid and mountain
grazing lands of the West has been still another major cause in the
depletion of the range forage. This policy has grown out of such
factors as :
1. Belief in universal private ownership of land and the attempt
to pass as much land as possible to private ownership regardless of
its character.
2. In this attempt, the practically unmodified application to the
radically different semiarid West of land laws suited to the humid
East and Middle West.
3. The failure to classify land as a basis for alienation according
to the economic suitablility for private ownership or to its highest
form of use.
4. The character of the interpretation and administration of the
land laws.
The first alienation to private ownership occurred in the Southwest
before American acquisition, as Spanish and Mexican land grants,
and amounted to more than 45 million acres. These grants were
based on the philosophy of a landed aristocracy rather than that of
democratic equality, which was one fundamental basis of American
land disposal. Although averaging several thousand acres each,
they have not generally resulted in good range management and
are depleted almost as badly as the surrounding lands.
Homesteading in the West dates back largely to the homestead
law of 1862. More liberal amendments and new laws have included
the enlarged homestead law of 1909, the Kinkaid Act of 1904, and
finally the stockraising homestead law of 1916.
Neither the maximum of 640 acres available under the stockraising
law nor the 160 acres under the original Homestead Act offered the
12 THE WESTERN KANGE
remotest possibility of supporting a family under range use. The
attempt at classification, made under the Stockraising Act, finally
listed practically everything short of absolute desert. The inef-
fectiveness of the classification has been paftly responsible for
abandonment before the passage of title of some 28 million acres
out of the 68 million acres entered. Under the Homestead Acts up
to 1935, 1.4 million entries were made for nearly 240 million acres,
a substantial part of which was in the range country and more than
half of the western homestead area was range land.
Railroad and wagon-road grants, totaling more than 101 million
acres of odd-numbered sections of range and other lands, checker-
boarded wide strips across the West and further complicated range
use and contributed to depletion. The railroad land policy has
been to cash in as fast as possible by sale, and about 65 million
acres of range land, mostly in small tracts, has gone into other
private ownership, leaving more than 19 million acres of the poorest
grant land unsold, most of it range, and in the original checkerboard
pattern. For this their policy has generally been to get the maxi-
mum current revenue through leasing. Most of the railroads have
recently reversed this policy, however, and are working toward some
stable and orderly use of the range resource which they still retain.
Texas retained its public lands and has based its land-disposal
policy on that of the Federal Government, except that considerably
larger areas have gone to single owners. Depletion has, however,
been much the same as on smaller private holdings.
Federal grants to the other western States were for common
schools, institutions, and internal improvements. Through selection
under institutional grants and by use of the various lieu-selection
laws there has been considerable consolidation. Most State land
was, however, in scattered sections. It has been sold where the legal
price could be obtained, and the remaining area leased for the maxi-
mum current revenue. These lands have been handled by agencies
whose primary function was disposal and revenue collection, and in
no instance by agricultural agencies. A total of about 33 million
acres has gone into private ownership. Since stockmen have fol-
lowed their own inclinations in the handling of leased State lands,
the extent of depletion is practically identical with that on lands
in private ownership.
The 149.4 million acres of range land available for grazing left
in the public domain, grazing districts, and other withdrawals is
the poorest west of the Mississippi. It is the land which for its
surface rights no one would take as a gift or purchase under the
homestead or other land laws. Much of it is badly scattered. Open
without restriction or restraint to all or to any who could take or
hold, no other class of range land has suffered more seriously. Along
with nearly three-fourths of the forage has often gone the top sou
on which future recovery must depend.
The sum total of the effects of past land policy on range land has
been:
1. A crazy-quilt ownership pattern, such as that shown in figures
63 and 64, made up of several hundred thousand small farm or
ranch units, widely scattered State holdings and railroad lands,
the foreclosures of insurance and investment companies, banks, etc.,
isolated Federal public domain tracts, and State and county tax-
THE MAJOR RANGE PROBLEMS 13
delinquent lands all of this almost impossible to handle effectively
because of size or surrounding holdings and leading inevitably to
overgrazing, depletion, and social and economic instability of the
dependent population.
2. The passage to private ownership of an enormous area of land,
the size of which is not yet accurately known, that is either sub-
marginal even for range use by private operators because of low
productivity, etc., or has high public values such as watershed pro-
tection which are difficult or impossible for private owners to
maintain.
3. The passage to private ownership and encouragement of dry
and other farming of some 50 million acres of relatively good range
land that is submarginal for crops. Nearly 25 million acres have
already been abandoned for cultivation and at least 11 million acres
additional constitute acute problem areas. On all of this area the
range has been destroyed and will be of little use for years to come
unless reseeded.
4. The passage to private ownership of key areas, such as water
holes, giving control of very much larger areas of public land, and
as spring range of which there is a serious shortage.
5. Tax delinquency on the ranges submarginal for private owner-
ship, and delinquency on and abandonment of the dry-farming areas
which the meager data available indicates to be excessive.
6. Depletion so serious that decades of time and enormous ex-
penditures will be required for restoration, not only of the range
which has passed to private ownership but also of that outside of
the national forests which has remained in public ownership.
Among the favorable features of Federal-land policy from the
standpoint of range depletion has been the creation of the national
forests, and the belated provision for a better handling of the Indian
lands and a part of the public domain.
FROM FINANCIAL HANDICAPS
One of the greatest financial handicaps of the western stockman
in comparison with his middle-western competitor is a serious freight
and marketing differential. On an 1,100-pound steer, for example,
Illinois has an advantage in the Chicago market over Idaho of
nearly $8.50, and over Nebraska of about $2.85 (fig. 8). The out-
standing competitive opportunity which the western stockman has
to offset this handicap is cheap feed from natural ranges. On the
average range feed worth $1 or less will support an animal satisfac-
torily as long as hay or other supplemental feed costing $5 to $10
or even more (fig. 9).
Instead of maintaining fully this natural advantage of cheap
range feed, however, the western stockman has ordinarily followed
one, or usually more, of three other courses which have actually
increased his handicap. In all of these he has tried to carry too
many stock. Hoping to reduce costs of production he has over-
grazed and destroyed his cheap range feed. He has bought crop
lands and grown and used excessive amounts of high-cost hay and
other supplemental feeds. He has purchased range lands often un-
der competitive conditions which have inflated values, increased his
capital investments, and hence the costs of production.
14
THE WESTERN RANGE
The investment in land in the livestock industry is so high in many
cases that the livestock or converting part of the enterprise cannot
earn a profit. Overcapitalization in land supplemented by the leas-
ing of land in competition, the purchase or growing of relatively
costly supplemental feed, and exorbitant interest on borrowed funds
have all contributed to high production costs. In Montana, for
example, the ratio of investment in land, improvements, etc., to the
ewe value per head was 0.5 to 1 in 1890, but had increased to 4.7 to
1 in 1932. In an attempt to restore the balance between land and
herd investments and to reduce production costs, stockmen have
ordinarily increased their herds and overstocked and depleted their
ranges.
Unfavorable credit facilities have added to the financial difficul-
ties of the livestock producer. Boom credit has been so easy that it
has almost been forced on him and has contributed to overexpansion
in both land and herds. During depressions when he has most
needed credit it was difficult or impossible to obtain, and he has had
to dump stock on glutted markets or frequently to hold them on
ranges already seriously overstocked.
Illinois
Nebraska__
Idaho_-
FlGURE 8. THE MARKETING DIFFERENTIAL.
Marketing costs, mainly freight, are one of the most serious financial handicaps of nearly
all the range country. Idaho's handicap over Illinois in the Chicago market of nearly
$8.50 on an 1,100-pound steer, can be met successfully only by some decided compensa-
tory advantage.
Beyond this, loans have been predicated almost entirely on live-
stock as the basic resource without taking into account the range
upon which they fed, and this again has contributed to overstocking
and range deterioration. Short-term loans at interest rates often as
high as 91/2 or 10 percent have increased costs, reduced profits, and
added to the hazards of the enterprise and its disregard of the basic
range.
Widely fluctuating markets from year to year and almost from
week to week, have capped the climax of their financial difficulties.
Depressed and glutted markets in particular have helped to keep
stock on the range where already numbers were far in excess of
what it could support.
Accordingly the financial and market set-up of the stockman has
always been difficult and sometimes almost impossible. That this
THE MAJOR RANGE PROBLEMS
15
situation has always borne hardest on the holder of land submarg-
inal for private ownership, the user of badly depleted range, and the
unit which was uneconomic because it was too large or too small,
or was poorly balanced between range and crop land, and between
land and herd, requires no proof.
With the financial cards stacked against him to a greater or less
extent the range user has made the fatal mistake of trying to break
even by crowding more stock on the range. As a result the range
deteriorated still more rapidly and this in turn accentuated his
financial handicap.
In this involved and ordinarily adverse situation the stockman
has not been entirely a free agent. His course of action may not
have been sufficiently aggressive and constructive and he undoubted-
ly failed to appreciate or may have seriously underestimated the
bearing of it all on his basic resource and what the end result would
be. However, in part at least, he has been the victim of circum-
stances far beyond his own control.
FIGURE 9. CHEAP RANGE FEED THE ANSWER.
Cheap range feed, the one best answer to the marketing differential, has unfortunately
been largely lost under unrestricted grazing, practically universal depletion, and ex-
cessive use of the several times more expensive supplemental feeds.
FROM THE CLIMATE
Last, but not least, among the primary causes of depletion is the
climate.
Precipitation in the western range country averages less than 15
inches, or only about one-third that of the East. Excepting the
higher mountain areas, it varies from about 15 inches in the short-
grass plains to less than 5 inches in the southern-desert shrub type
of the Mohave-Gila Desert of the Southwest.
For single years or, often, for groups of years it falls below the
average. An extreme of 2 to 4 years out of 10 are drought years
over much of the Southwest. Severe droughts often lasting several
years have occurred over much of the West in every decade since
1880.
16 THE WESTERN RANGE
The volume of range forage produced depends upon climate and
especially upon the amount of precipitation. At the extreme, the
reduction in forage production in very dry as compared with favor-
able years may reach over 90 percent in the semidesert grass and
southern desert shrub types in New Mexico and Arizona. Over
large areas the fluctuation may be as much as 80 percent in succes-
sive years. Under even the most favorable climatic conditions the
recovery in production is not complete in a single year, and under-
average conditions probably requires from 3 to 5 years. Under
adverse conditions it requires still longer.
Neither the climate nor the amount of precipitation can be con-
trolled by man, but the numbers of stock on the range can. The
almost universal failure to vary the numbers of stock with such fluc-
tuations in the amount of forage produced, or to stock below pro-
duction in average years, has been one of the primary causes of
depletion. For example, from 3 to 10 times as many valuable forage
plants died during the 1931-35 drought on heavily grazed as on
adjoining lightly grazed areas in western Utah and southwestern
Wyoming. The records show steadily increasing numbers of live-
stock on the range over entire States during periods of declining
precipitation and hence decreasing forage stand, until the severity
of the drought and the scarcity of the feed compelled drastic reduc-
tions in numbers by forced sales or by high starvation losses. Such
catastrophes have occurred in most Western States during every
severe drought period of the last 50 years, including that of 1934,
when the distress was alleviated only by Federal livestock pur-
chases which reached the staggering total of more than 11 million
head of cattle, sheep, and goats, at a cost exceeding $100,000,000.
This was more than one-sixth of the total number of beef cattle,
sheep, and goats in the 17 Western States on January 1, 1934.
RANGE USE AN INTEGRAL PART OF WESTERN AGRICULTURE
The growing of domestic livestock on open ranges, their produc-
tion on fenced pastures, and the production of farm products on cul-
tivated land are merely different phases of agriculture. But the ex-
tent to which range use is related to and, in fact, an integral part of
western agriculture is another major finding of this report.
Range use by domestic livestock in the West probably began in
New Mexico about 20 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth.
It was not until nearly 280 years later, with the cattle boom of the
eighties, that heavy use over large territories became a major factor
in range depletion. Cattle and sheep had increased to an early peak
in California about 1875. From 1870 to 1880 all the other Western
and, especially, the Plains States showed exceedingly rapid increases
in number of cattle. Texas chiefly, with more than 4.5 million cattle
during the seventies, supplied the other Plains States. Sheep spread
rapidly over the western ranges between 1890 and 1910.
Irrigated crops as an adjunct to range use were grown along the
Rio Grande from about 1700 on. Even in the 1850's during the early
stages of the range livestock industry, which at first was almost
wholly pastoral, crop farming began in California and Utah. The
first homestead patent was granted in 1869 in Nebraska. The cut-
THE MAJOR RANGE PROBLEMS 17
ting of native hay began in the seventies. In parts of Idaho range
livestock grazing proved very difficult until crop agriculture pro-
duced the feed needed to carry stock through the winter.
Beginning in 1910 large irrigation projects have been an impor-
tant factor in furnishing supplemental feed and concentrates for
feeding and fattening range livestock. The 242,908 farm units and
93,797,000 acres of land in farms in the 11 far Western States in
1900 had by 1930 more than doubled in number of units and in
acreage.
In sum, grazing, which at the beginning was largely an inde-
pendent and pastoral enterprise, and which after a long, slow start
expanded ahead of and more rapidly than crop agriculture, has now
become vitally dependent upon crop production. The latter also
started early but has grown more slowly, and reached large propor-
tions several decades later.
The combined range and crop agriculture now constitutes a sub-
stantial part of the total wealth of the West. The 1930 census values
western farm lands and buildings, and farm and range livestock,
machinery, etc. (including privately owned range and excluding irri-
gation improvements), at more than 12.9 billion dollars, or 23 per-
cent of the comparable total for the United States. Western crop
products for the same year were worth over 1.5 billion dollars and
livestock products nearly 480 million dollars. In addition to beef
and mutton, hides, etc., 'the range territory produced 75 percent of
the 1930 national production of wool and mohair, or more than 276
million pounds, valued at more than 82 million dollars.
Except for the highly specialized crop farming, mostly on irri-
gated land, and producing such products as fruits and nuts, the
agriculture of the West is primarily an integration of range live-
stock grazing and crop farming.
Out of several hundred thousand separate enterprises no two per-
haps are quite alike. They vary from the one extreme of operations
consisting entirely of range lands used for livestock production, which
purchase from crop farmers the supplemental and fattening feeds
they use, to the other extreme of units devoted exclusively to crop
farming for the production of grain or other cash crops, where the
direct tie with the range is confined to sales of supplemental feed
or the leasing of irrigated pasture. In between are innumerable
combinations and variations of range lands used for livestock grazing
and crop lands used to provide supplemental feed for range livestock
and for many different kinds of cash crops.
Land tenure differs fully as much, from the rapidly vanishing
tramp sheepman who owns no range and leases little, to the baronial
operator who owns outright the range and crop lands which support
his stock throughout the year. In size, ownership may be as small
as 5 or 10 acres of crop land, or as large as the 500,000-acre ranch,
largely range, but with some crop land.
Cattle, sheep, horses, and other livestock and the meat, wool, and
other materials of which they are the source, are clearly, therefore,
the products of range lands only in part. The diversified products
of croplands various cereals, corn, sugar beets, cotton, flax, sor-
ghums, hay, pasturage, etc. return cash income only in part.
Whether sold or used directly in feeding they now constitute no less
6494636 3
18
THE WESTEKN KANGE
than 35 percent of the feed required for western range livestock
(fig. 10).
Each major region of the West has its distinctive agricultural pat-
tern and form of integration of range and croplands, dominated
mainly by climate and topography, but partly also by economic con-
ditions and tradition. These are described in detail in the report
and repetition here would only serve to illustrate still further the tie
between range and cropland use which is already apparent.
Western agriculture is the direct source of livelihood for over 1
million farm and ranch families, the principal support for another
million families in rural towns, and the indirect support for a large
part of the remaining population of the West. Its contributions
extend from the farms and ranches through the small and exclusively
agricultural communities to the larger supply towns and the metro-
LIVESTOCK ON
OTHER FEED
LIVESTOCK ON RANGE
FIGURE 10. INCREASING INTEGRATION OF RANGE AND CROP AGRICULTURE
A threefold 45-year increase in the percentage of numbers of livestock on supplemental
feeds and irrigated pastures is a salient point in the increasing integration of western
range and cropland agriculture.
politan centers. The grocer, druggist, miner, mechanic, lumberman,
and banker, the stockyards, the railroads, and other transportation
services, in fact every western activity which forms a part of the
complex, interrelated, interdependent structure of modern civiliza-
tion has its stake in a permanently prosperous and stable agriculture.
The somewhat arbitrary eastern boundary of the range country is
no limitation, however, on the tie of its agriculture with the agricul-
tural and other industries and activities of the remainder of the
United States. The western ranges furnish feeder and stocker cattle
in large numbers to the Midwest, thereby offering the opportunity
for diversification of farm products and for turning slack time into
cash. Both the Midwest and the South sell large quantities of
shelled corn, other grains, and cottonseed meal and cake to the West.
The range country and the Middle West compete in supplying the
eastern consumer with various livestock products. And these are
only a few obvious forms of the tie between the West and the East
in which western range and cropland and their products play so
conspicuous a part.
THE MAJOR RANGE PROBLEMS 19
SERIOUS SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC LOSSES
The only way to measure the value of the range is by the social
and economic yardstick, the losses from mismanagement and abuse,
and the contrasting benefits from wise use. The character and ex-
tent of such losses and benefits constitute another major finding
of this report.
Close integration of range and cropland use carries with it an
equally close dependence. Maladjustments or deterioration or de-
struction in either one inescapably reacts upon the other. The
problems of one are inevitably the problems of the other. What
benefits one benefits both. The free play of economic forces has
gone so far in the welding process that it is impossible to escape the
fundamental soundness of this relationship.
IN LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION AND RELATED CROP AGRICULTURE
Most spectacular among the maladjustments in range land use,
because of both the originality and daring of the attempt and the
completeness of the failure, has been the effort to use it in dry-land
farming. As indicated, the attempt has covered a total of over
50 million acres, about half of which has been abandoned for culti-
vation, much of it even before going to patent. Many of the re-
maining occupants are on relief rolls. During favorable crop
years it added greatly to American and world surpluses of such
crops as wheat.
Dry-land farming utilized some of the finest range lands and
crowded the livestock onto lands already overstocked. It occupied
large areas of spring ranges already too small to meet requirements
and forced stockmen to hold their herds on pastures and hayfields
so late in the spring that these also were more or less seriously dam-
aged. The reoccupation of the abandoned lands by valuable forage
plants is very slow. At least 15 million acres will have to be reseeded
artificially at a cost so high that it probably can be borne only by
the public.
A more serious but less spectacular maladjustment has been the
passage to private holders of many millions of acres of range land
submarginal for such ownership. The fact that some 150 million
acres of range lands in the public domain, grazing districts, and
other withdrawals, and most of the additional 58 million in State
ownership has not been transferred to private ownership has been
a clear-cut recognition that some range lands are submarginal for
private holding.
But for range lands once transferred an entirely different psy-
chology has held. It has taken several decades of private owner-
ship, waves of failures following repeated efforts culminating in a
combination of one of the worst depressions and worst droughts
which the West has ever experienced, even to raise the question
seriously.
The question has not arisen earlier in acute form because the
private owner has been living on a range and soil capital built up by
natural processes over thousands of years which has only now be-
come so largely dissipated that he must face realities; because he
could to some extent supplement the deficiencies in his own hold-
20 THE WESTERN RANGE
ings from a free public domain now passing out of the picture;
and because of the tenacity with which the average American has
held to the belief that he could in some way work out his own sal-
vation on almost any land however unproductive.
Two classes of range land fall into the submarginal class for
private ownership: Those (1) with a very low grazing capacity
because of poor soil or adverse climate or both, or because of severe
depletion under conditions so adverse that many years of light
stocking will be required for rehabilitation; those (2) on which the
range has been destroyed by cultivation and must be restored arti-
ficially at high cost.
Most of the southern desert shrub type, which has a grazing ca-
pacity of only four to five cows per section of land, illustrates the
extreme of the first class. This poorly watered land may require the
excessively high investments for water and fencing alone of $50 to
$75 per cow.
A drought expectancy of 2 to 4 years in 10 in most of the semiarid
Southwest, as compared with 1 to 2 years or less in the sandhills
of Nebraska, is reflected in forage production so low in the drought
years that the only alternatives are heavy starvation losses or high
supplemental feeding costs.
When on many millions of acres grazing capacity has been reduced
by 50 or 75 percent or more, and 5 to 10 acres are required to carry
one cow for a month, the costs of production are correspondingly
increased, and if to this is added the long period of very low stock-
ing required for restoration, the possibilities of profit under private
ownership may be removed for years to come.
The vegetation destroyed by cultivation on lands of the second
class can be restored artificially at a cost of $50 to $100 for enough
range to carry a cow a year, and this cost may be no higher than
that of carrying the land for the time required for natural restora-
tion of the forage. Whether private owners can carry this burden
on top of other production costs, except on the very best lands, is
questionable.
The adverse marketing differential already discussed holds for
both classes of land in all of the far- western States except California,
and accentuates low inherent productivity and depletion, or both
combined especially because of the need for cheap range feed to
meet midwestern competition.
So also does taxation, which bears most heavily on the poor and
most seriously depleted lands. The operator whose range will sup-
port only one animal per 100 acres year long and who pays a tax
of 5 cents per acre, which amounts to $5 per animal unit, labors
under a handicap so serious that again serious question of the feasi-
bility of private ownership is raised.
High tax delinquency in many parts of the range country is at
least a symptom of something so seriously wrong that it will not be
cured by returning the lands to private ownership. And to all of
this evidence must be added the low standards of living and high
relief rolls in some range country.
The information now available does not permit any exact deter-
mination of the area of range land submarginal for private owner-
ship, but it probably runs into scores of millions of acres.
THE MAJOR KAKGffi PROBLEMS 21
The Federal and State land legislation and policies already de-
scribed transferred to private owners hundreds of thousands of
range-land units too small for the support of a family. The result
has been a long, slow, and painful adjustment in which both owners
and the range have suffered. Between 1910 and 1930 alone the
number of ranches in the 100- to 174-acre class in the 11 western
States decreased by more than one-third, and the number of units
over 1,000 acres more than doubled.
The availability of small units encouraged oversettlement, and this
coupled with the effort to build up units of favorable economic size
and the growing shortage of feed led to competition for land, in-
flated values, higher costs, and lower profits. It was a part of the
vicious circle of more cattle in the effort to meet higher costs, and
of more land to carry more cattle. The already depleted range lost
the little chance it had.
Land policies also made possible the acquisition of key areas such
as lambing grounds, water holes, beef pastures, and holding grounds,
so that frequently the ownership of very small tracts permitted the
control of large areas of range. The smaller and weaker stockmen
were at the mercy of the stronger key-area owners.
Range depletion has had a long series of adverse effects on both
crop and livestock growers.
Depleted ranges and abandoned farms serve as a breeding ground
for the beet leafhopper. In six counties in Idaho in 1934 alone this
pest reduced the beet crop by 90 percent. Two beet-sugar factories
did not open and 500 people were thrown out of employment for the
manufacturing season.
Range depletion, among other causes, has forced stockmen to the
excessive use of supplemental crop feeds which may cost from 5 to
10 times more than range feed. Supplemental feed has its proper
place in finishing for the market and for winter use. And supple-
mental feeding induced by overgrazing has in turn been one of the
causes of depletion by keeping many more livestock on the range
than it could carry.
Range depletion and at times the lack of home-grown supplemental
feed or its relatively high cost has been responsible for shipments
of poor or half-fat beef and lambs, and this cuts heavily into possible
profits.
The benefit of long years of effort to build up good breeding
herds has been lost in part through lack of feed. At Miles City,
Mont., calves from good range were 48 pounds heavier at weaning
than those from overgrazed ranges. In New Mexico there was a
difference between rehabilitated and heavily grazed ranges of about
200 pounds in cow weights.
Both calf and lamb crops are decreased and annual losses are
increased when there is too little range forage. Chronic emergencies
and forced sales, which are commonly due to drought and depres-
sions, could often be minimized by ample forage and commensurate
crop land.
Federal feed and crop loans have been necessary on a large scale
in part because of maladjustments and depletion. That the Novem-
ber 1935 percentage of repayment in the western range country is
about 44 percent as compared with 62 for the country as a whole is
significant.
22
THE WESTERN RANGE
Maladjustments and depletion have caused serious decreases in
population with correspondingly bad effects on the social and eco-
nomic life of the communities. Fifteen representative dry-farm
counties in six States, for example, lost from 4 to over 40 percent
of their population in the single decade ending in 1930.
More than enough examples have been given to show that a wide
diversity of economic and social losses results from range depletion
and crop- and range-land maladjustments. The greatest possible
security should conversely result from ranges restored and main-
tained in high productivity, from privately owned units of economic
size with a proper balance in area and productivity of range- and
crop-land, and from a proper distribution of land between private
and public ownership.
FROM EROSION AND FLOODS
In a region of meager precipitation such as most of the West, the
availability of water for irrigation, municipal purposes, power, etc.,
TOTAL WATER-YIELDING AREA
50
100 150
MILLION ACRES
200
250
FIGURE 11. WATER-YIELDING AREAS
Four-fifths of the 232 million acres which produce 85 percent of the water in the major
western streams comes from range lands, and low precipitation makes water the
limiting factor in nearly all western development.
is in most cases the factor which limits development. All plans
for agricultural and municipal security as well as for most other
industries must take this definitely into account.
Approximately 85 percent of the water of the principal watersheds
of the West is derived from an area of about 232 million acres. Of
the utmost significance is the fact that four-fifths of this important
water-producing area is made up of range lands (fig. 11).
An additional reason for consideration is the fact that no less
than 589 million acres of range lands, according to the best available
information, is eroding so seriously that the destruction which it
causes compels attention. Still further, 352 million acres of this
area is contributing an appreciable amount of silt to major streams
(fig. 12).
Watershed values have been most seriously impaired on the public
domain and on private, lands. Approximately 149 million acres, or
98 percent of the available public domain and minor reservations,
is eroding more or less seriously, and 67 million acres is contributing
THE MAJOK KANGE PROBLEMS
23
silt to major streams (figs. 13 and 14). Over 80 percent of private
land is eroding and 195 million acres is contributing silt. While
not so extensive, erosion on State and Indian lands is also critical.
CONTRIBUTING SIL1 TO MAJOR STREAMS
200
400
600
MILLION ACRES
FIGURE 12. EROSION AND SILTING OF STREAMS.
Eighty percent of the entire range area is eroding more or less seriously, and hence
reducing the productive capacity of the soil. Nearly half is contributing silt in dis-
turbing quantities to major western streams, and hence impairing their value for
irrigation, power, and municipal water supplies.
Even on the national forests, which have a watershed objective in
administration, 32 million acres is eroding and will require additional
attention.
OWNERSHIP
AREA ERODING
Federal
National Forests
Public Domain,
Grazing Dist's.etc.
Indian Lands.-
State and County.
Private..
20
40 60
PERCENT
80
100
Material erosion
Severe erosion
FIGURE 13. EROSION BY RANGE OWNERSHIPS.
Erosion is most serious on the public domain and grazing districts, and Indian, State
and county, and private lands are little better. Even 30 years' management has
fallen far short of curing erosion on the national forests.
Scientific investigations have proved beyond a doubt that the plant
cover minimizes and often prevents erosion and floods, and con-
versely, that depletion is a primary cause of both.
24
THE WESTERN RANGE
Studies in Utah to ascertain the effects of range vegetation on
run-off and erosion have shown that by increasing plant density
from 16 to 40 percent, surface run-off from summer rams is reduced
by two-thirds and erosion by more than half its former volume.
In Idaho investigations of the effectiveness of different range types
on surface run-off and erosion show that a plant cover of the most
desirable forage species yielded practically no surface run-off or
sediment, while the poorest cover yielded more than 60 percent of
the precipitation in surface run-off and an equivalent of more than
three-fourths of a ton of sediment per acre.
From a barren area in Missouri over a 6-year period 123 times
as much soil was eroded as from a sod-covered area. Denudation by
fire near Los Angeles increased flood run-off fortyfold and erosion
approximately a thousandfold.
Geologic evidence in Utah has shown that recent destruction of
plant cover has accelerated erosion and increased the number of
OWNERSHIP
SERIOUS SILTING
Federal
National Forests
Public Domain.
GrazingDist's,etc
Indian Lands
State and County.
Private....
50
100
MILLION ACRES
150
200
FIGURE 14. SILTING OF MAJOR STREAMS BY RANGE OWNERSHIPS.
While the area in private ownership contributing silt to major streams exceeds that in
all other ownerships combined, several other ownerships or forms of control urgently
need attention.
floods beyond anything that had taken place in the preceding 20,000
years. These random examples are merely representative of similar
results obtained throughout the West.
Floods are now increasing in frequency and severity from depleted
western ranges, until scarcely a summer day passes when newspapers
do not carry an account of loss of property or life. In Utah 27
important watersheds flooded in 1932 alone, and investigation showed
their source to have been largely on range lands eaten down to the
bare soil, while in New Mexico and Arizona historical evidence shows
that floods are more frequent and destructive than anything which
occurred in the past.
In 1922 the Palo Verde flood caused $1,000,000 damage. A Eio
Grande flood in 1932 practically destroyed flood-protection improve-
ments worth $5,000,000 and did more than $1,000,000 damage to
other property. Floods in Davis County, Utah, have caused
THE MAJOR RAFGE PROBLEMS 25
$1,000,000 damage since 1923. The La Crescenta flood of 1934 took
a toll of 30 lives and did $5,000,000 damage.
The loss of almost irreplaceable soil on the western range is as
widespread as range depletion itself. In the mountains of all the
western States accelerated sheet and gully erosion are stripping
and cutting slopes and channeling meadows. Southwestern valleys
are being trenched with great arroyos often 100 feet in depth and
300 or more feet wide, and both mesa lands and mountain meadows
are being ruined. The silt loads of the rivers of the Great Plains
and the "black blizzards" of the last few years, with their threat to
farm and industrial values and health, bear testimony to ravaged
lands.
Silt deposits filled the small Austin Dam Reservoir in Texas in
13 years. The Elephant Butte Dam is filling at the rate of about
20,000 acre-feet annually. The McMillan Dam in New Mexico is now
valuable only for diversion. The same thing is happening in greater
or less degree in most of the reservoirs throughout the West.
The grazing value of range watershed lands may not often exceed
$3 per acre. The watershed value is much more difficult to deter-
mine. Some indication of relative values may be gained, however,
from a consideration of dependent investments. More than 5.8 bil-
lion dollars is invested in irrigated land and improvements, as com-
pared with about 4.1 billion dollars in range livestock and related
ranch properties. Each of the 475 million acres of range land yield-
ing water or contributing silt to streams supports an investment of
$12.27 in irrigation works, lands, and facilities, and this figure would
be still higher if the investments for power and municipal water
supplies were added.
Another measure of the value of the range cover, can be obtained
by considering the loss in the productive capacity of the soil from
erosion as a result of depletion. The fertile top layers go first.
Several hundred million acres have already lost 1 to several inches,
and the productive capacity may have been reduced by one-fourth
or one-half or. more. These layers can be replaced only very slowly,
as shown by investigations under the more favorable conditions in
the East which indicate a rate of about 1 inch per 1,000 years.
Fortunately, man is not helpless in this situation, black as the
picture now is. On many of the protected municipal watersheds of
the West and on the managed watersheds of the national forests are
examples of arrested erosion and controlled floods which are the
direct result of range restoration. Not only has the production of
forage been increased but the services which watersheds should
render in maximum flows of usable water for dependent crop agri-
culture, in municipal water supplies, in power, in clear fishing
streams, and in greater security to life and property have followed
as a matter of course.
IN WILDLIFE
Wildlife is one of the natural products of the range. Its present
annual economic value is estimated at more than $90,000,000. To
evaluate its economic significance, however, expenditures exceeding
$40,000,000 by hunters and fishermen should be added, and, in part
also, those by recreationists of over $155,000,000, because one of the
26 THE WESTEKN BANGE
intangible but chief values of wildlife is the increased recreational
attraction and enjoyment which it affords.
No one familiar with wildlife requirements will question the state-
ment that the range with little or no impairment in its value for
other uses could support a vastly larger wildlife population. So far,
in fact, have numbers been reduced that any recital of what remains
is in itself an indication of both tangible and intangible social and
economic losses.
A few outstanding examples will suffice. The former millions of
buffalo have declined to the few thousand on reservations ; the thirty
or forty million antelope to about 65,000; the few mountain sheep,
goats, moose, and grizzly bear left are barely holding their own ; the
scattered remnants of upland game birds and fur bearers are still
declining; the reduction of waterfowl has become a matter of na-
tional concern. Most of the big-game animals have been crowded off
their original range into much less favorable conditions.
The chief factors and causes which are responsible for the present
situation, discussed in detail later, need only be listed here :
1. The deterioration of the habitat through range depletion which
has destroyed both food supplies and cover for land animals and
birds and silted fishing streams.
2. Complications growing out of the passage of large areas of land
to private ownership under a policy which offers no incentive to the
owner to protect and maintain wildlife.
3. Maladjustments in land use, such as swamp drainage, that have
attempted but failed to use for agricultural crop production land
which would render its highest social and economic return in wild-
life production.
4. Unrestricted or poorly controlled hunting and fishing.
5. A series of ill-advised or poorly handled constructive measures
such, for example, as game preserves, transplanting, buck laws, etc.,
which have created almost as many problems as they have solved.
6. Protection alone defeating its own purpose by leading to over-
population.
7. Wildlife agencies recruited on the basis of political rather than
technical qualifications.
8. The lack of adequate technical knowledge.
9. The belated development of the basic concept that game man-
agement is required, having for its purpose production as a crop
with provision for the annual harvesting of the production or sur-
plus, this in proper correlation with other legitimate uses of the
range.
The fundamental cause, however, is again the typical American
philosophy of prodigal destruction rather than the conservation of
natural resources.
Public interest in wildlife has increased very rapidly during the
last few years, the direct result of the efforts of many sportsmen's
and other associations and of State and Federal agencies. Although
many of these activities have not reached the fundamental problems,
nearly all have constructive aspects. Through them, for example,
State agencies have contributed toward the rehabilitation of the wild-
life resource. The Biological Survey has established a number of
migratory bird and other reservations, controlled predatory animals
injurious both to wildlife and domestic livestock, controlled range-
THE MAJOR RANGE PROBLEMS 27
destroying rodents, and conducted research necessary as a basis for
wildlife management. The Bureau of Fisheries and numerous State
agencies have stocked many western streams and cooperated in their
improvement.
The national forests have had a more important effect on the
rehabilitation of wildlife in the range country than any other meas-
ure so far adopted, and are a concrete, although far from per-
fect, indication of the possibilities. National forest increases, which
for big game animals alone are about 75 percent in the last decade,
have been brought about with very little reduction in other forms
of use, such as livestock grazing. The reappearance of wildlife
has undoubtedly been one of the factors responsible for over 38
million visitors in the national forests in 1934 as compared with
3 million in 1917. These increases have not come without difficul-
ties growing out of rigid State laws which stood in the way of re-
ducing surpluses regardless of whether feed was available to keep
the game from starving, or of the legitimate requirements for live-
stock or other forms of use, nor without other difficulties in working
out effective cooperation between State and Federal agencies.
IN RECREATION
During the past half century public opinion regarding the social
necessity of outdoor recreation, not alone for the favored few but
for all, has undergone as radical a change as that regarding bath-
tubs and night air. People generally have learned that modern life
makes demands for which the most practical remedy is periodic
association with nature. The needs and the benefits are both physi-
cal and mental.
If increased opportunity for wholesome outdoor activities is not
provided, existing play areas will be so crowded that only partial
returns for expenditures of time and money can be obtained, and
greater leisure time may not as it should contribute to health and
happiness. The American people have developed a mobility which
dwarfs into insignificance the outdoor spaces that can be dedicated
exclusively to recreation.
Eange lands, as well as others, possessing the qualities sought by
outdoor recreationists have thus acquired economic values which
often exceed those for other services. They are capital assets of
their communities. They draw large sums of money that otherwise
would not be received ; money which contributes as fully to economic
security as that from any other source.
People do not as a rule pay directly for the privilege of enjoying
scenic charm or other recreational values, but they do pay indirectly
through purchases of commodities and services for which there
otherwise would be no local market. The recreational use of lands
means that the market is brought to the resource without cost of
transportation.
The serious depletion of most range areas, the reduction in wild-
life, the erosion and silting of streams, have all been reflected in
impaired recreational values. Where originally the mind was in-
spired by views of grass-covered and flower-studded slopes, it is
now depressed by the sight of a terrain scored and dissected by
28 THE WESTERN RANGE
erosion and only thinly covered by plants. Healthful recreation
from hunting and fishing have also been greatly curtailed.
Recreational use may entail changes in grazing, farming, etc.>
against which objections may be made. All members of a com-
munity share in its prosperity. In communities which make full use
of all natural advantages, local demands establish good markets and
prices, property values are increased, and local institutions are main-
tained at higher standards. Thus the entire community, including
the industrialists, benefit from the multiple use management of nat-
ural resources to a degree which frequently offsets or exceeds possible
losses from restriction in grazing or other forms of use.
These facts are amply confirmed by a quarter century of national
forest administration. The traditional purposes of the national
forests were primarily utilitarian, timber production, watershed pro-
tection, and forage for game and domestic livestock.
But the recreational use of the national forests has grown amaz-
ingly, as shown by the elevenfold increase in the estimated number
of visitors to over 38 million in the 17 years ending in 1934. Some
changes in the use of timber and ranges have been necessary on the
one hand and some acceptance by recreationists of less than pri-
meval conditions on the other. Actually all interests are better off.
In the light of national-forest experience it seems inevitable that
the administration of other publicly owned range lands, both Fed-
eral and State, having recreational value will, if they are to serve
the highest public interest, have to take recreational needs into ac-
count along with those for grazing, watershed protection, and wild-
life. That recreational use has a place on privately owned range
lands as well is clearly shown by the present status of dude ranching.
IN DEPENDENT COMMUNITIES
The small agricultural communities throughout the range coun-
try suffer both directly and indirectly from any and all the factors
which reduce the prosperity of, or otherwise adversely affect, either
crop or range agriculture, as the mere listing of a few of the con-
nections will show. The local merchants who depend largely upon
rural trade; the mechanics and laborers; the professions such as
medicine and law; the semipublic organizations such as churches;
the public institutions such as schools and the public activities such
as highway construction and maintenance, all of which are de-
pendent upon taxation; the well-being of all of these and many
more fluctuates immediately and directly with that of their agri-
cultural constituency.
It is equally obvious that the small agricultural community is
merely the stepping stone to the larger supply centers which serve
the agricultural regions, and these in turn to the larger western
cities. Directly and indirectly involved also are the railroads and
other transportation facilities, the banks, and industries such as
lumbering which at first thought seem remote but which actually
depend in part for the sale of their products upon the ability of
agriculture to purchase.
In the complex present-day civilization with its high degree of
specialization, maladjustments in any one important part extends di-
rectly or indirectly into, most or all of the rest, locally, regionally,
THE MAJOR RANGE PROBLEMS 29
and even nationally. It is a delicately balanced mechanism exceed-
ingly sensitive throughout its entire working to a disturbance af-
fecting any one part.
IN HUMAN WASTAGE
By far the most serious result is human wastage. What sum total
of human wastage has grown directly and indirectly out of the de-
pletion of the western ranges and the maladjustments in the use
of range and interrelated croplands will never be known. That
it has been very large there can be no doubt. Neither can there be
any doubt that the struggle has served to develop a strong, re-
sourceful, self-reliant group of survivors who form a most desir-
able addition to American citizenship.
Much of the wastage has been so insidious and obscure that it is
never traced back to its fundamental causes. Successive waves of
failures under the more adverse conditions, such as the lands sub-
marginal for private ownership, the wrecking of high hopes and
aspirations, and the hopelessness and despair and the lowering of
initiative and self-reliance that grow out of failure, the melting away
of lifetime savings, the casting adrift of thousands of families to
become a floating instead of a stable population, reduced standards
of living, uncompleted education, and other lost opportunities, all
of these and many more are the barest indication of what unre-
strained exploitation and destruction mean in terms of human happi-
ness and well-being.
In part the human wastage was the price which had to be paid
in a pioneering enterprise. But in much larger part it is the price
of glaring and unnecessary mistakes. Any conclusion to the con-
trary is the saddest kind of a commentary on American efficiency.
Certainly the possibility of eliminating or reducing human wastage
in the future is the most compelling justification for the restoration
of the range resource and the permanent maintenance of its pro-
ductivity for the highest forms of use.
RANGE CONSERVATION THE EXCEPTION
The black range cloud like all others has its silver lining. Some
pitifully small areas have been spared, and what is even more signif-
icant, other much larger areas have been rehabilitated. On the
latter primarily, range management having a partially scientific
basis has been developed and successfully applied. The exceptions,
which have not been entirely confined to any one form of land
ownership or control, emphasize the general situation by contrast,
demonstrate the value of good stewardship, and point the way to the
solution of the range problem (figs. 15 and 16). Their existence and
the reasons for them constitute one of the major findings of the
report.
PRIVATE LANDS
Approximately 376 million acres, or 51 percent of the range land
of the West, is in private ownership. Theoretically the incentive of
ownership should have kept large areas in good condition, but
actually it has been so ineffective that the original grazing capacity
30
THE WESTEEN RANGE
has been reduced by more than half. Only on scattered ranges and
individual ranches is the range in good condition.
One wool growers' association in Idaho has maintained most of its
forage in far above average condition, numbers of stock and grazing
seasons have been limited, and reasonably satisfactory management
has been established. A cooperative association in Montana has
been equally successful. Individual ranches which have maintained
their ranges through management might be cited in all States. In
California a number of ranges which have been grazed continuously
for over 50 years have been managed on a sustained forage yield
basis. One badly depleted ranch in Marin County has been virtually
OWNERSHIP
AREAS
Federal
National Forests
Public Domain
Grazing Dist's,etc
Indian Lands
State and County.
Private-.
50
100
MILLION ACRES
150
200
In reasonably
good condition
In unsatisfactory
or poor condition
FIGURE 15. RANGE AREAS IN REASONABLY GOOD AND IN POOR CONDITION.
Only about 95 million acres of the total range area is now in reasonably good condition,
and nearly 90 percent of this is on the national forests and private lands. The
reasonably good areas in other ownerships and forms of control are insignificant. Even
more impressive is the size of the areas in unsatisfactory or poor condition.
restored, and a 40,000-acre ranch in Humboldt County still supports
a maximum stand of the valuable California oatgrass. A 12 million-
acre area in the sandhills of Nebraska, where the blowing of the
soil following depletion early taught the stockmen the need for con-
servative grazing, has largely been maintained in good condition.
This area as a whole constitutes an outstanding example of satisfac-
tory management of privately owned range lands.
The explanation of these exceptional cases lies in various combina-
tions of favorable natural and economic conditions better than
average growing conditions; highly resistant and recuperative for-
age plants; good soils; good grazing capacity; conditions which
favor good stock distribution; low purchase, carrying, and produc-
tion costs; balanced economic units; favorable location to markets:
THE MAJOR RANGE PROBLEMS
31
the influence of national-forest management ; and finally, good busi-
ness and range management. Such factors as these are responsible
for roughly the 44 million acres or 12 percent of privately owned
range that is in good or fairly good condition.
INDIAN LANDS
More than 48 million acres of grazing land chiefly within western
reservations fall into the Indian land category (fig. 17) . The pres-
ent condition of this range varies from reasonably satisfactory in
Oregon, Washington, a portion of Idaho, and the northern Great
Plains, to serious depletion on most of the area in the Southwest
Indian lands as a whole have been depleted 51 percent, and during
OWNERSHIP
RANGE AREAS IN REASONABLY GOOD CONDITION
Federal
National Forests
Public Domain,
Grazing Dist's,
Indian Lands
State and County
Private. _
10
20 30
PERCENT
40
50
FIGURE 16. PERCENTAGE OP RANGE OWNERSHIPS IN REASONABLY GOOD
CONDITION.
When the percentage of total range areas in reasonably good condition is taken into
account, the story is markedly different from that in figure 15. The national forests
have the best record, but this is creditable only in the light of the condition of the
ranges when management began 30 years ago.
the last 30 years the trend on three-fourths of the area has been
downward, while improvement has been confined to 10 percent.
What lifts the Indian lands into the exceptional classification, how-
ever, is the extension of a definite program of management over all
range lands in 1930 with the delegation of grazing supervision to
the Forestry Branch in the Bureau of Indian Affairs. On the north-
western reservations, where earlier progress had been made, the pro-
gram was readily put into effect. Elsewhere the major provisions
of the program have been applied to the grazing of white-owned
livestock. Progress has been slow, however, on ranges used by the
Indians themselves, especially in the Southwest. It is hoped that
through persistent effort and extension work the overstocking can be
reduced. The recent Wheeler-Howard Act provides among other
things for the stabilization of land status and authorizes consolida-
tion for management purposes. All in all, while difficult problems
remain unsolved, the stage has been set for satisfactory range con-
servation on Indian land.
32
THE WESTERN RANGE
GRAZING DISTRICTS
The Taylor Grazing Act (June 1934) authorizing grazing districts
of 80 million acres consummates many years' effort to place the open
public domain under administration. Sixty-one million acres of
range lands have been included in grazing districts. More than 67
million acres of Federal lands in the unreserved public domain and
National Forests
Indian Reservations
Established Grazing Districts
Proposed Grazing Districts
FIGUEB 17. The national forests, Indian reservations, and established and proposed
grazing districts.
approximately 23 million acres in various reservations and with-
drawals still lack any provision for grazing management. With
average deterioration on the public domain of nearly 70 percent,
which crowns a downward trend for nine-tenths of the whole for
the last 30 years, this is the most seriously overgrazed and depleted
range land in the United States. More than 95 percent of the avail-
able range on the public domain grazing districts and other reserva-
THE MAJOR RANGE PROBLEMS 33
tions is eroding, one-half materially and one-half severely ; nearly
45 percent of the area is contributing silt to important streams,
wildlife values have been greatly reduced, and the utter lack of
conservation measures has led to serious social and economic malad-
justments.
The title of the Grazing Act lists as its purposes:
To stop injury to the public grazing lands by preventing overgrazing and soil
deterioration ; to provide for their orderly use, improvement, and development ;
to stabilize the livestock industry dependent upon the public range; and for
other purposes.
The Secretary of the Interior is directed to
make provision for the protection, administration, regulation, and improvement
of such grazing districts as may be created.
The general purpose of the act and many of its provisions are
admirable, but its administration may be greatly hampered, or even
defeated, by restrictive clauses. Much depends upon the administra-
tive policies adopted under its broad discretionary powers. A clause
in the first sentence, "pending its final disposal", that is of the range
land, weakens the entire structure and discourages far-sighted ob-
jectives by implying a transitional status. Inadequate provision is
made for special watershed protection and for the conservation of
resources other than grazing, such as wildlife, forests, and recreation.
The emphasis is primarily on grazing utilization.
The provisions of the act making the grazing privilege an ad-
junctive right in proportion to land and range- water ownership,
perpetuate and enhance existing monopolies in land use with a public
resource and may even encourage further monopolies. Adjustments
needed to make the grazing privilege more fully supplement crop
and other range lands, and contribute to the maximum number of
satisfactory economic home units are hampered and may be blocked.
Some provisions of the act may make grazing privileges practically
vested rights and prevent reductions needed for range protection.
Cooperation with local associations of stockmen and appropriate
State agencies is provided. It is doubtful, however, whether this
desirable feature should be made the main instrument of administra-
tion. Present indications are that local control will be largely by
advisers elected by the stockmen except for supervision and basic
technical criteria for conservation of the natural resources by Gov-
ernment personnel. The danger is that because of economic pres-
sure stocKmen will not impose sufficient restrictions upon themselves
and their neighbors to rehabilitate the range and manage it satis-
factorily, and that they may not amply safeguard other resources
such as watersheds, recreation, and game, in which the general pub-
lic is vitally interested. It is questionable whether the incentive for
good management will be greater than under complete private
ownership.
THE NATIONAL FORESTS
The examples of even fairly satisfactory range management are
so much the exception that it is difficult to outline the progress made
on the national forests without giving the appearance of partisan-
ship.
6494636 1
34 THE WESTERN RANGE
Large-scale range conservation and management has pioneered
and largely centered on the national forests. Eighty-two and a half
million acres, or 62 percent of the total area of the western na-
tional forests are usable and available for grazing. Approximately
1,430,000 cattle and horses, and 6,161,000 sheep and goats are grazed
several months of each year.
The national forests are the direct result of action by far-sighted,
public-spirited leaders who recognized the widespread exploitation
and depletion of our forest and watershed resources and the critical
need for their conservation and wise use. They began as "Forest
Reserves" in the Department of the Interior under the act of March
3, 1891, which authorized the President to withdraw and set apart
by Executive order areas for timber production and for maintain-
ing favorable conditions of water flow.
Up to February 1, 1905, only 63.3 million acres had been set apart,
but very little progress had been made in the administration, protec-
tion, and management of the lands. The policy was more one of
"locking up" the resources than of wise use.
On February 1, 1905, the forest reserves were transferred to what
has since become the Forest Service in the Department of Agricul-
ture, and later renamed national forests. President Theodore Roose-
velt increased the area to 194.5 million acres, to prevent further ex-
ploitation and monopolistic control. Civil service became the basis
for selection of personnel and the organization was decentralized to
facilitate and localize administration.
The objectives in the administration of the national forest ranges
have been:
1. Conservation and use. Perpetuation of all of the resources
through protection, development, and wise use.
2. Multiple use. Correlation in management and use of all the
resources to obtain the highest net public benefits. In such correla-
tion timber production and watershed protection are necessarily
given high priority.
3. Equal opportunity. Protection of the settler and home builder
against monopoly and unfair competition in the use of the resources.
4. Integration with agriculture. Relating the use of range and
other national forest resources to farm-grown forage crops, range,
and other agricultural resources to obtain the highest benefits from
all the land.
5. Stability of use. Safeguarding livestock agriculture by af-
fording maximum stability in range use consistent with national
forest objectives.
6. Cooperation with users. Provision for an advisory voice in
national forest administration by stockmen and other users.
7. Local administration. A businesslike and technical adminis-
tration designed and organized to settle local problems expedi-
tiously according to local conditions.
Except for an advisory voice which came later, regulations incor-
porating these basic policies were put into ^ effect on July 1, 1905.
Modifications have been made from time to time for clarification and
better application.
Most range managers in the Forest Service now have both scien-
tific training and practical experience in range administration^ a
gradual transformation from a staff made up largely of men with
THE MAJOR RANGE PROBLEMS 35
practical experience only. They ascertain, by local study, the rela-
tive value for grazing of the various range plants, their ability to
withstand grazing, soil, and other requirements for growth and re-
production, the best methods of use, and other factors, which to-
gether determine safe grazing capacity, proper seasons of use,
adaptability of the range to different classes of stock, requirements
for sustaining the forage production, and how to hold the soil and
maintain its fertility.
Range management plans which apply these data are in effect on
four-fifths of the area. Stock is controlled on the range by salting
practice, proper herding, and the construction of watering places,
drift fences, and other range improvements. The stockmen partici-
pate actively in management both individually on their respective
range allotments and collectively through livestock associations and
advisory boards.
Grazing capacity has been improved 19 percent since 1910. Na-
tional-forest ranges today on the whole are 70 percent as good as
virgin range, as contrasted with 33 percent on the public domain and
49 percent on privately owned range in the West. Real progress
has been made in range restoration, considering the pioneer nature
of the effort, the extent of depletion when the forests were estab-
lished, the time required for rebuilding the soil, the rough topog-
raphy, the necessity of grazing large numbers of livestock each year,
the overload of livestock carried during the war period, the recent
protracted drought, the desire to avoid undue hardships on the live-
stock industry through drastic reductions, and the time required to
overcome human inertia. All of these factors have retarded reha-
bilitation. But the fact remains that the range has not been fully
restored. Too many sore spots remain, and remedial action has been
too slow on many of them. For the national-forest range area as a
whole it is difficult to escape the conviction that progress should
have been greater, although it may be too easy in retrospect to min-
imize the handicaps faced and overcome. Watershed services,
wildlife numbers, recreational use, and timber production have been
increased, although here also there is still ample room for improve-
ment.
On the whole, the possibilities of range conservation, use, and man-
agement have been demonstrated, and public responsibility has
largely been redeemed. Shortcomings exist, and important unsolved
problems remain, prominent among which are full range restoration
and a further improvement in range management, more equitable
distribution of grazing privileges socially and economically, in which
too little progress has been made, and more satisfactory relations
with range permittees.
RESILIENCE OF RANGE LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION
Range livestock production has shown a remarkable persistence.
It has been like a patient suffering from several diseases any one of
which the doctors believe should be fatal, but who continues to live
a lusty, vigorous life.
JRange livestock production has been a new American venture,
without traditional background. For forage production it has had
to contend with a climate which at best constitutes a drought more
36 THE WESTERN RANGE
severe than any which the remainder of the United States has ever
experienced. Western droughts have periodically wiped out the
gains of years. Cheap range feed has been the one great competitive
advantage of the western range country under a serious marketing
handicap as compared with the Middle West. This feed, by flagrant
neglect and mismanagement, has been seriously damaged and in
places almost destroyed. Over many millions of acres the fertile
soil, slowly built up during thousands of years, has been wasted
away and with it the basis of forage production. In going the soil
has often carried damage and destruction to far-distant areas and
communities.
Range livestock production has built up its land tenure under land
policies so unsuitable that the final result is an indiscriminate mix-
ture of holdings large and small, individual and corporate, private
and public, Federal and State. It has been encouraged by competi-
tive forces, and by public-land laws and policies formulated for en-
tirely different conditions and transplanted with little or no modifi-
cation, to assume the burden of millions of acres of submarginal
land on which the private owner never had a fighting chance.
Maladjustments in the use of millions of acres of land for crop
production, which widespread failure has shown to be suitable only
for range, have destroyed for years to come some of the most pro-
ductive range territory. In the balance of seasonal range areas and
in the balance between crop and range feed a whole series of other
maladjustments have crept in.
Although purely an agricultural function, the jurisdiction over
Federal range lands has been split between two departments. One,
charged with the responsibility for building up and supporting all
phases of agriculture for the entire country, has for the past 30
years been trying on a large scale an experiment on the publicly
owned national forests in the conservation of natural resources, in-
cluding range, entirely new in American history. The other, charged
with the responsibility for the disposal of Federal lands, has only
within the last 2 years begun the attempt to administer the ranges
which private owners could and would not take from the puWic
domain. The agricultural agencies of the States have had little
voice and no responsibility in the administration of Federal grants,
which have been handled by agencies charged primarily with land
disposal.
Range livestock production has operated under an almost impos-
sible credit structure. It has been crushed time and again by de-
pressions. Its markets have been controlled by outside agencies or
forces, often to its detriment.
Within its own ranks it has often waged relentless war, big man
against little, cattleman against sheepman. For years it fought the
crop farmer, who has now become an essential part of a soundly
balanced enterprise. It has all too often fought the public agencies
which were attempting to maintain its resource and to solve its basic
problems.
And yet possibly no other American enterprise has shown a greater
resilience. None has had a greater confidence in the promise of the
future or in its own ability to meet every problem which might
arise. The only conclusion is a virility, an innate vitality, and some-
thing fundamentally sound in the use of range for livestock grazing
THE MAJOK BANGE PBOBLEMS
37
which deserves and should be given a far better opportunity in its
own and in the public interest than it has ever had.
DRASTIC REMEDIAL ACTION REQUIRED
The bewilderingly complex range problem will be clarified and
consideration of the program required for its solution will be facili-
tated by breaking it down into its component parts, many of which
in themselves constitute important problems. This can be done only
at the expense of some repetition of the preceding and following
discussions. The reader may if he wishes skip this cataloging of
problems to the point on page 40 where those of greatest immediate
importance and urgency are summarized.
MAJOR RANGE RESOURCE PROBLEMS
c
TO HALT AND REVERSE DEPLETION
TO CHECK EROSION AND REBUILD SOIL
TO RESTORE DEPLETED RANGES
Total
Range *v
Area
TO PUT RANGE UNDER MANAGEMENT
) 200 400 600 728
MILLION ACRES
FIGURE 18. MAJOR RANGE RESOURCE PROBLEMS IN TERMS OF AREA.
One measure of the magnitude of some of the major range resource problems is the
hundreds of millions of acres on which constructive programs must be carried out.
All constitute a high percentage of the total range area of 728 million acres.
The number of interrelated and overlapping problems in this
break-down is so large and many of them are so crucial that no one
is the key to the entire situation. They are so enmeshed in the)
established economic and social set-up that all solutions are fraught
with extraordinary difficulties. No single feasible line of construc-
tive action offers the remotest hope of a satisfactory solution.
1. One major group of problems centers in the range resource and
its management.
(a) How stop further forage depletion on the 553 million acres, or
76 percent of the total range area still deteriorating, and start the
forage on the upgrade (fig. 18).
(o) How place all range lands under management. Approxi-
mately 523 million acres is now subject to practically unrestricted
grazing.
38 THE WESTERN EANGE
(c) How restore to the nearest possible approach to original pro-
ductivity, and maintain in such productivity thereafter, the 675 mil-
lion acres, or 93 percent of the range area, now depleted.
(d) How prevent further deterioration of the soil on which forage
production depends on the 589 million acres now eroding more or
less seriously, and start the rebuilding process.
(e) How restore the soil resource to the nearest possible approach
to its original fertility, and maintain it at this level.
2. A second group of major problems centers in land and its
ownership and use.
(a) How obtain the soundest distribution of ownership of range
lands by curing existing maladjustments, and preventing their re-
currence, first as between private and public holdings, and second,
as between county, State, and Federal.
(b) How further unscramble the existing ownership mess, and
obtain satisfactory livelihood units under private ownership, and
units which will permit efficient administration under public
ownership.
(c) How insure the use of land in the range country for the range
use or crop production for which it is best suited, by rectifying
existing maladjustments and preventing future recurrence; or to
state much the same problem in another way, how obtain a satis-
factory integration of range and crop agriculture, the best balance
in private holdings, individually and collectively, and as between
public range and private range and croplands.
(d) How, through the correlation of the various uses for which
range lands are suited, obtain the maximum use or service consistent
with the conservation of the resource, and hence the highest current
public benefits. The uses involved are:
Livestock production estimated at a grazing capacity 50 years
hence of at least 17.1 million animal units, instead of the present
safe capacity of 10.8 million units.
Watershed services in the delivery of the maximum amount of
usable water, with the minimum of erosion, silting, and destructive
floods; services which on many areas will constitute the dominant
requirement.
The production on forested ranges of timber crops which on the
national forests will be one of the dominant uses.
Provision for such part of the rapidly growing need for recre-
ation as the scenic and other facilities of the range country can
furnish.
The sustained production of wildlife as a crop.
3. A third group of major problems centers in privately owned
range lands and domestic livestock.
(a) How relieve private owners of the burden of lands submar-
ginal for such ownership, and of lands on which the cost of maintain-
ing high watershed or other public values is excessive for private
holding, and how also prevent the passage of such, lands to private
ownership in the future.
(b) How care for and improve submarginal and high public
value lands pending transfer to the public, which may require many
years.
(c) How obtain a positive recognition of the responsibility of
stewardship.
THE MAJOR RANGE PROBLEMS 39
(d) How reduce the present 60-percent excess of 6.5 million ani-
mal units to what the range as a whole can carry and still improve.
Because of livestock ownership the producer is as directly con-
cerned on public lands as on those he holds in fee simple.
(e) How place private range lands under satisfactory range
management.
(/) How restore to the western livestock producer and how main-
tain his one large competitive advantage of cheap range feed.
(g) How aid private owners to acquire economic units which will
support a family under reasonable standards of living.
(h) How minimize or remove the other existing financial handi-
caps to economically justified private ownership in inflated land
values, unsound credits, unsatisfactory market conditions, etc.
(i) How improve existing range animal husbandry.
(;') How furnish a reasonable incentive to the private landowner
to produce and protect game on his own lands.
4. A fourth group of major problems centers in State and county
range lands.
(a) How reconcile the need for the conservation of the range
resource in the general public interest on Federal land grants with
the demand for revenue from these lands by dependent institutions.
(b) How provide for the administration and management, for
the various purposes for which they are suited, of all State and other
public range lands by competent agricultural agencies.
(c) How bring order out of chaos in the handling of tax
delinquency.
(d) How provide for the acquisition of the State's share of sub-
marginal and high public value range lands.
(e) How provide for the consolidation of State and county owner-
ships into efficient administrative units.
(/) How carry a long-term constructive program, particularly if
it cannot be made self -liquidating.
5. A fifth group of problems centers in Federal range lands.
(a) How, since it is a strictly agricultural activity, provide for
the handling of the grazing districts by an agricultural agency.
(b) How place the remainder of the public domain and other
Federal withdrawals and reservations under administration and
management.
(c) How provide for a sound social and economic distribution of
grazing privileges on all Federal lands ; probably requiring on graz-
ing districts the modification of organic legislation; and on the
national forests, further improvement of administrative policies.
(d) How prevent the establishment of prescriptive rights on
grazing districts.
(e) How prevent a conflict in Federal and State authority in the
administration of the grazing districts.
(f) How insure an effectively correlated administration of all
Federal range lands, and at the same time recognize also the funda-
mental distinction between the national forests and the more strictly
range group of lands. This means providing on the national forests
for the necessary further correlation of range use with that of timber
and other national-forest resources, and on other lands providing for
the further correlation with the resources involved.
(g) How provide for the Federal share of the responsibility for
acquiring private lands submarginal for such ownership, and lands
40 THE WESTERN RANGE
with high public values which cannot or will not be safeguarded
by private owners.
(A) How provide for the consolidation of Federal lands into
workable administrative units.
SI) How reconcile the existing difference between national forests
grazing districts in the Federal contribution to States, etc., in
lieu of taxes and place it on an equitable basis.
(j) How provide for an effective working relationship between
the Federal Government and the States in the handling of wildlife
on Federal lands.
(k) How carry a long-term affirmative program, particularly if
it cannot be made self -liquidating.
6. A sixth group of major problems centers in the social and eco-
nomic aspects of integrated range and crop agriculture.
How prevent further human wastage and insure reasonable stand-
ards of living and social and economic security for the maximum
number of people that the combined range and cropland resource
can support. The handling of all lands regardless of ownership is
involved.
7. A seventh group of major problems centers in basic knowledge.
(a) How obtain the basic information needed by both private
and public owners on the biological, social, and economic phases of
the conservation and use of the entire range resource.
(5) How insure the application of this knowledge by private
owners and public-land managers.
In briefest form the lines of action of greatest immediate urgency
and importance are
1. For the range and soil resource. To stop further soil and for-
age depletion, start both on the upgrade, reduce excessive stocking,
and place all range lands under management.
2. For land ownership and use. To rectify existing maladjust-
ments and obtain a sound distribution of ownership between pri-
vate and various public agencies, build up economic private and
public units, balance and integrate crop and range use, and cor-
relate the livestock, watershed, forest, wildlife, and recreation forms
of range land uses and services.
3. For privately owned range lands and livestock. To relieve
private owners of submarginal and high watershed and other pub-
lic-value lands, obtain a recognition of the responsibility of steward-
ship, reduce excessive stocking, place lands under management, re-
store cheap range feed, build up economic units, and minimize or
remove various other financial handicaps.
4. For State and county lands. To reconcile range conservation
and the financial needs of State institutions, place lands under ad-
ministration and management by agricultural agencies, solve the tax
delinquency problem, and share the acquisition of submarginal and
high public-value lands.
5. For Federal range lands. To transfer the grazing districts to
the Department of Agriculture; place all remaining lands under
administration and management; to interpret and probably amend
the Taylor Grazing Act to provide for a sound distribution of graz-
ing privileges, prevent the establishment of prescriptive rights, and
provide for the correlation of various grazing uses; and share the
acquisition of submarginal and high public-value lands.
THE MAJOK KANGE PEOBLEMS 41
6. For social and economic security^ To prevent further human
wastage and insure social and economic security for the population
dependent on the combined range-cropland resource.
7. For basic knowledge. To obtain and apply the information
necessary for the conservation and wise use of the range resource
for public betterment.
Implicit in these problems and lines of action is the question of
the desirability or necessity, if Federal obligations are to be fully
redeemed, for the full concentration of responsibility for public
action in a single agency. A similar question holds for the States.
To KESTORE AND MAINTAIN THE KANGE
It is perfectly clear from the preceding discussion that the range
resource the forage and the soil on which it grows is the key to
all forms of use and hence to all the social and economic benefits
which should flow from such uses.
The most urgent range resource problems are to stop further
deterioration of forage and soil and start both on the upgrade. The
ultimate objective is full restoration and permanent maintenance in
full productivity. The means which must be employed to accom-
plish both purposes is to reduce excessive stocking to what the range
can carry and improve, and to place all range lands under
management.
If the range is to serve its greatest usefulness, plans for stopping
deterioration, and for restoration and maintenance, must be formu-
lated around the highest form or forms of use, whether for the
grazing of domestic livestock, for the services which watersheds
should render, for timber production, for the production of wildlife,
or for recreation.
FOR LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION
One specific indication of the size of the job of halting further
deterioration, of restoration, and of maintenance is the 728 million
acres of range land which it must cover.
A specific indication of the size of the restoration job is the fact
that the present grazing capacity of the range as a whole must be
increased by about 110 percent to reach its original condition. Still
further, as shown by table 3, restoration must provide for more than
633 million acres now depleted more than one-fourth, nearly 390 mil-
lion acres more than half, and nearly 120 million acres more than
three-fourths.
TABLE 3. The restoration /oft in terms of areas now depleted
Depletion classes
Area depleted
1,000 acres
Percent
Moderate (0-25 percent)...
94,825
244,997
270, 470
117,904
13.0
33.7
37.1
16.2
Material (26-50 percent)
Severe (5175 percent)
Extreme (76-100 percent)
Total
728,196
100
42 THE WESTERN RANGE
In briefest form the specific lines of action required are :
1. First and by all odds most important, the reduction of stocking
to the actual present grazing capacity. Since present stocking of
the entire range area, now 17.3 million animal units, is 60 percent in
excess of its estimated capacity, it will have to be reduced by about
6.5 million animal units.
The guiding principle should be stocking year after year with
the number of animals which each unit will support each season
without injury to the range. The outstanding need for restoration
and the wide fluctuations of climate and hence of forage production
require conservative stocking for satisfactory results, and this under
most conditions should leave from 20 to 30 percent of the palatable
growth of the important forage plants during average years. In
addition, stocking should be low enough to prevent injury to water-
sheds and tree growth, and should be properly correlated with wild-
life and recreational requirements.
The practical difficulties involved in such reductions are fully
recognized, but the owners of private lands and managers of public
lands should not overlook the possibility that actual returns will be
greater in the long run from conservation than from continued over-
grazing. They may be greater immediately. The reduction figures
given are for the entire range. Not all ranges and individual hold-
ings are overstocked. Many stockmen who have overstocked free
public ranges in self -protection will undoubtedly welcome the oppor-
tunity to make reductions to actual grazing capacity when these
ranges are placed under administration and the feed for their live-
stock is assured.
2. A judicious balance for range rehabilitation between natural
and artificial revegetation.
The cheapest and most practical method of halting destruction and
of restoration on about 635 million acres or 87 percent of the total
range areas is through the control of the stocking and the use of
sound grazing systems. This means in essence merely giving the
native forage a chance to come back under its own marvelous
recuperative powers.
On about 38 million acres, or 5 percent, of the most completely
depleted areas such as abandoned farm lands and those which are
most critical from the standpoint of watershed protection, the choice
lies between artificial revegetation, which has a great advantage in
time but will cost about $2.85 per acre, and waiting for natural
processes, which according to the best information now available
would require from about 20 years as a minimum to perhaps 50
years as a maximum.
3. Putting into effect on the ground the best available systems of
grazing, including deferred and rotation grazing, continual moderate
grazing, and alternate grazing, which are described in more detail
elsewhere in the report. The use of these systems is required in both
restoration and subsequent maintenance, as are also all of the follow-
ing lines of action.
Such systems are in effect on about 80 percent of the national-
forest ranges, possibly 40 or 45 percent of Indian lands, and 10 to 15
percent of private and State lands.
4. Adjustments of seasons of grazing to safeguard forage plant
vigor and prevent damage to the soil.
THE MAJOR RANGE PROBLEMS 43
Such seasonal adjustments have been made on at least 85 percent
of the national-forest ranges and seasonal use is probably satisfactory
on one-third to one-half of other ownerships.
5. Insuring the use of each range unit by the class of animals for
which it is best suited. Where the wrong class of stock is grazed,
especial care in stocking and management will be required. On pub-
lic lands, at least, the proper balance between livestock and game
is necessary.
About 80 percent of the national-forest ranges are grazed with
the proper class of livestock, but information on other ownerships
is not available. This phase of management will be increasingly
important as the need for greater efficiency in the use of available
forage is recognized.
6. Employment of all practical means such as salt control, water
development, herding, and in some cases fencing, to obtain the closest
practical approach to even distribution of stock over the range and
to reduce livestock handling costs.
Such means are in effect in varying degrees on a rather high per-
centage of national-forest ranges, on possibly half the private ranges,
and on still lower percentages of other ownerships.
7. The preparation and use of practical range management plans,
which for most private owners can be very simple. For the private
owner, public assistance in their preparation should be made avail-
able through extension services.
Serviceable range management plans have been prepared for ap-
proximately 82 percent of the national-forest ranges and intensive
plans for 48 million acres. Nearly 57 million acres, including inter-
mingled lands, still need range surveys as a prerequisite for fully
satisfactory plans. General plans have also been prepared or are
in preparation for all Indian range lands, but 28 million acres re-
quire range surveys for intensive plans. Nearly 150 million acres
of grazing districts and other Federal range lands will need surveys
for management plans. Many private owners have sketchy plans
for handling their ranges but only a small percentage have devel-
oped and applied plans adequate to prevent deterioration and in-
sure rehabilitation of depleted ranges.
8. Animal husbandry is an essential part of the livestock enter-
prise. Despite rather marked progress, there is still room for im-
provement. Better practices such as the use of high-quality sires,
limited breeding seasons, the culling of aged cows and ewes, supple-
mental feeding designed to offset mineral deficiencies in range feed,
etc., should increase calf and lamb crops, improve the quality of the
animals, and increase the prices received. Owners should then be
able to obtain the same or greater income from smaller herds and to
graze their ranges more conservatively.
FOR WATERSHED PROTECTION
For satisfactory watershed protection, a range service at least
equal in value to that for livestock grazing, the following additional
provisions are necessary :
1. If some necessary precautions are taken, restoration, and main-
tenance of plant cover adequate to meet watershed requirements
satisfactorily on most ranges is possible under grazing.
44 THE WESTERN
2. On approximately 135 million acres of depleted range, accord-
ing to the best information available, more conservative utilization
or greater care in the use of grazing systems, in seasonal use, etc.,
than that necessary to restore and maintain forage will be required.
3. In some instances, such as seriously eroding areas on the water-
sheds of important streams, temporary closure to all grazing will
be necessary in the public interest. Perhaps 50 million acres may
be involved since this will include the 38 million acres requiring arti-
ficial revegetation.
4. Small critical range areas, perhaps not to exceed 5 percent of
the total range area, will require special erosion-control measures.
The exact conditions under which the cheaper and more practical
means of natural revegetation must be supplemented by special
measures is uncertain, and the most effective measures and what
they will cost, are still in an experimental stage.
5. Limited areas, such as municipal watersheds, and those of irri-
gation reservoirs where the plant cover is on a hair-trigger balance
because of adverse conditions, will need to be closed permanently to
grazing. A total of about 11.5 million acres fall into this category.
FOR TIMBER PRODUCTION
Included in the range area is about 78 million acres of forest land
capable of producing commercial timber crops. Nearly 90 percent
is in national forest and private ownership. Under proper man-
agement livestock can ordinarily be grazed without jeopardizing
the more profitable use for timber growing.
An additional 76 million acres classified as range lands in this
report contains forests which will not grow commercial timber
products. Here, ordinarily, the choice of dominant use will be
between grazing and watershed protection.
FOR WILDLIFE
1. The primary requirement for wildlife is the nearest feasible
approach to natural environmental conditions through halting fur-
ther range deterioration, and through restoration and maintenance.
Along with this must go clear-cut recognition of the fact that wild-
life is a product of the land and can satisfactorily be produced only
as a crop.
2. If properly managed the wildlife resource need not, except on
limited areas, conflict seriously with the use of the range for other
purposes. For big game animals and waterfowl, exclusive use may
be required of only relatively limited areas of range land, in addi-
tion to the 2.8 million acres already reserved in the national forests,
and areas acquired by the Biological Survey for migratory bird
refuges and other wildlife preservation.
3. The strengthening of the basis for cooperation between the
Federal Government and the States is a badly needed initial step
in the handling of game on Federally owned lands.
4. Beyond this, the development of a coordinated administration
of wildlife on all lands regardless of ownership is necessary.
5. The working out of some way to retain hunting and fishing
privileges for the average man, which the American sportsman re-
THE MAJOR RANGE PROBLEMS 45
gards as a birthright, is an increasing challenge, as is also some
incentive to private landowners to produce and protect game.
6. Other -considerations include
(a) Recognition of the need for wildlife management plans and
provision for actual preparation.
(b) Selection of the personnel in game administration agencies
by the merit system rather than by political preference. This neces-
sarily includes the recognition of wildlife management as a
profession.
(c) Provision for needed refuges and sanctuaries.
(d) The ironing out of difficulties in licensing and law enforce-
ment.
(e) Provision for the artificial planting of game where needed
and feasible.
FOR RECREATION
1. Recognition of the inspirational, social, and economic value of
recreation, taking into account its phenomenal recent and probable
future growth.
2. Recognition of the fact that range lands have an important
recreational function although it is seldom their dominant use.
3. Careful planning, which under most conditions will make pos-
sible full recreational use without undue restriction of either live-
stock use or that by wildlife.
4. Such local adjustments in grazing use as may be necessary.
5. The cash value of recreation in which livestock producers
share is an important factor offsetting possible losses. The western
"dude ranch" is an example of direct returns, but community returns
benefit livestock producers indirectly.
FOR PRIVATE LANDS AND LIVESTOCK
Three hundred seventy-six million acres of western range land is
in private ownership. During a few decades, livestock grazing has
depleted this area by 51 percent; 85 percent or about 318 million
acres is still going down; more than 15 million acres will require
artificial revegetation ; only about 12 percent or 44 million acres is
in good or fairly satisfactory condition.
The magnitude of the private -land problem in area, in estimated
present grazing capacity, and in potential grazing capacity 50 years
hence, is shown graphically in figure 19 in comparison with public
holdings.
The lines of action involving privately^ owned lands and livestock,
which have been designated of greatest immediate urgency and im-
portance in an affirmative program, should be repeated in order to
bring the provisions which follow into sharper focus; to relieve
private owners of lands which they cannot carry and redeem the
responsibilities of stewardship, reverse the process of forage and soil
depletion by reducing overstocking and placing all lands under man-
agement for their highest forms of use, restore cheap range feed,
balance range and cropland use, and to build up economic units and
minimize or remove other financial handicaps.
The private ownership of land is so ingrained in our national
philosophy that the obvious action called for on range lands is to
46
THE WESTEEN RANGE
afford to private owners the most favorable possible opportunity to
hold all lands which are above the submarginal line, or which do
not have a special public interest. This more specifically requires
combined private and public action to remove or at least to mini-
mize the handicaps which have served to make private ownership
precarious under all but the most favorable conditions.
Range lands which, because of low inherent productivity and high
ownership costs, are clearly submarginal for private ownership, or
which have high public values involving expenditures beyond pri-
OWNERSHIP
GRAZING CAPACITY
Federal
National Forests
Public Domain,
Grazing Distfe.etc.
Indian Lands
State and County.
All Public
Private....
400 300 200 100
MILLION ACRES
Available
Range Area
Present Grazing
Capacity
2 4 6 8 10
MILLION ANIMAL UNITS
.rrn Potential Grazing
ml Capacity (SOyears)
FIGURE 19. GRAZING CAPACITIES, PRESENT AND POTENTIAL, BY OWNERSHIPS.
Privately owned lands comprise only slightly more than half the range area, but have
more than double the present potential grazing capacity of public lands. Such
public lands as national forests, the grazing districts, and the public domain are
much more important than either acreage or grazing capacity alone indicates, the
national forests because of the shortage of summer range and the grazing districts
because of the shortage of winter range. Furthermore, these public holdings are the
largest areas under single forms of control. Private ownership is not the simple,
compact entity that the diagram indicates, but is made up of several hundred
thousand ranch, corporate, and other holdings. The transfer of any such area as 125
million acres from private to public ownership will make significant changes in the
relationships shown.
vate means fall into an entirely different category. The ways in
which private owners may be relieved of the burden of carrying
such lands, which total about one-third of those now privately held,
are discussed later. Under the most favorable conditions which can
now be foreseen, many years will be required for such a transfer.
While nominally the following discussion covers the entire area in
private ownership, it deals primarily in fact with the lands above
the marginal line and without high public value which will remain
permanently in such ownership. But it must be recognized that the
submarginal and high public value lands will constitute a particu-
larly acute problem prior to transfer.
THE MAJOR RANGE PROBLEMS 47
The universal private ownership of domestic livestock, large
numbers of which graze on public lands, broadens the problems of
the stockman far beyond his own land holdings and increases the
public responsibility for the welfare of the livestock industry.
THE RESPONSIBILITY OF STEWARDSHIP
For reasons already outlined, the private owner's responsibility
for the stewardship of land is a concept conspicuous largely by its
absence in the United States. Ownership has been regarded as
carrying the right of unrestricted use even though it meant de-
struction and even though the evil consequences of destruction did
not stop with the owner but extended to the public and to posterity.
Basic to the restoration and conservation of the range resource is
the recognition of an entirely different philosophy: that ownership
carries with it the obligation and responsibility for preservation,
which the owner owes to himself, to his descendents, and to the
public.
Satisfactory recognition and practical application can be obtained
only by the fullest cooperation of private and public agencies in
such ways as: (1) Local regulatory laws on the use of land; (2)
framing and adoption of land policies; (3) land zoning and plan-
ning; and (4) various other measures outlined in more detail in
the following.
Information is already available on simple practical systems of
range management and the handling of stock on open ranges which
will permit vast improvement over existing practices, and which
should increase the financial returns of the stockman and at the
same time restore and perpetuate his basic resource. Although ani-
mal-husbandry practices are far in advance of range management
on private lands, there is still room for improvement.
Involved are:
1. The recognition of cheap range feed as the outstanding com-
petitive advantage of the western stockman.
2. The recognition of overstocking followed by the necessary re-
ductions, which from the information now available for privately
owned ranges as a whole will have to be about 38 percent (figs. 20
and 21).
3. The application of sound systems of management and handling
of livestock on the range. This and the preceding should stop de-
pletion and start recovery on the 318 million acres which are still
deteriorating.
4. Artificial revegetation on 15 million acres.
5. Water development, fencing, and other improvements, rodent
control, etc., as a basis for range improvement and better use of
the range.
6. Simple, practical range management plans based on actual
conditions in essence, carefully considered planwise efforts to raise
the standards of handling all ranges.
7. Better animal-husbandry practices, such as breeding, culling,
supplemental feeding, etc.
48
THE WESTEKN RANGE
The private operator has both an opportunity and an obligation
to put such measures into effect individually or through cooperative
associations.
Present
Grazing
Capacity
Livestock
on Range
369
MILLION ANIMAL UNITS
FIGURE 20. EXCESSIVE STOCKING ON PRIVATE RANGES.
One of the most crucial and immediate problems on privately owned range lands is the
reduction of excess stocking, estimated at about 4.5 million animal units. No other
single form of action will do more to stop deterioration and start the ranges on the
upgrade.
The public can make a large contribution by conducting research
and giving advice and assistance through extension agencies in
accordance with the plan followed in crop agriculture.
CLASS OF
OWNERSHIP
EXCESS STOCKING
National Forests
Indian Lands__
Private
Public Domain,
Grazing Dist's.etc.
State and County
40 60
PERCENT
80
100
FlGUEB 21. PERCENT OF EXCESS STOCKING BY OWNERSHIPS.
Except on the national forests, the removal of excess stock is a critical problem. Even
on the national forests, where the excess is relatively small, the problem will be
difficult.
Where large cash outlays are required for revegetation, erosion
control, range improvements, etc., public assistance might take the
form of doing a part of the work or of subsidies provided, in view
THE MAJOR RANGE PROBLEMS 49
of the recent A. A. A. Supreme Court decision, they can be made
conditional upon requirements for improved range practices, or
provided some other effective means can be worked out.
The Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act may provide
a means for aiding both private and public owners to restore and
maintain the soil and range resource. Any payments to private
owners or tenants, or to the permittees on public ranges, which may
be made under this act, should among other things be conditional
upon livestock reductions to the grazing capacity of the range, and
upon such other requirements as satisfactory systems of range
management, proper seasonal use, etc.
Among the responsibilities of stewardship carried with private
ownership of land is watershed protection. The major part of
watershed responsibilities for especially hazardous conditions must,
however, be borne by the public.
About 25 million acres of privately owned forest land capable of
growing commercial timber is valuable also and available for graz-
ing. On such lands higher returns can ordinarily be obtained from
timber growing, and consequently it will be in the self-interest of
the owner to make timber growing the dominant purpose of manage-
ment. Timber returns can usually, however, be supplemented by
those from livestock grazing.
For the production of game some form of compensation to the
private owner will be necessary, either by sportsmen's associations
or. the States. Precedents exist in several States.
RECONSTRUCTION OF ECONOMIC UNITS
As a result of factors already discussed, including unsuitable land
policies, large numbers of land units in the West are uneconomic
from the standpoint of supporting families under reasonable stand-
ards of living, and hence socially undesirable. Such units fall into
three classes: (1) Undersized cash-crop livestock units; (2) under-
sized livestock units; (3) oversized livestock units.
Sound economic units will vary within wide limits because of
radically different regional and local conditions and the differences
in individual enterprises. The formulation of guiding principles for
working out such units constitutes an exceedingly complex and diffi-
cult problem, and the application will be even more difficult and time
consuming.
The tendency already begun to build units up to economic size
should be encouraged. Provision will have to be made, however,
for the resettlement on irrigation projects or otherwise of people who
are eliminated.
The tendency for oversized units to break down should be en-
couraged and this should help to take care of excess population
eliminated in building up small units.
The size of satisfactory units may under some conditions be held
down by a greater diversification of crops and at the same time a
more stable agriculture assured. The building up of range pro-
ductivity should also be a factor, in holding down the size of satis-
factory range units.
The addition to the already large area of public range land of
about one-third of the land now privately held will accentuate the
6494636 5
50 THE WESTERN RANGE
place which the use of public lands must fill in economic units. The
availability of public lands will reduce the size for private units.
It must be recognized, however, that the total area of range land is
not large enough to meet all requirements, that practically all ranges
are already badly overstocked, and that the soundest use of public
range will be to build up economic units and not to perpetuate
uneconomic units.
The availability of public ranges on the national forests, grazing
districts, and State lands should afford an opportunity for labor to
supplement income and hence to reduce the size of private units
which would otherwise be necessary.
Despite the fact that up to the present economic units have not
insured satisfactory handling of the range, they do, theoretically
at least, constitute an essential basis for stabilizing private ownership
and insuring economic security, and should accordingly receive
corresponding attention.
INFLATED LAND VALUES
Both owners and their creditors must be prepared to accept defla-
tion of range-land prices to actual values, and public agencies can
render material aid by placing credit on a sound basis. Authorita-
tive information on values, obtained by research, should be invalu-
able as a guide.
PRODUCTION CONTROL
The excess of annual exports over imports in "meat and meat
products" dropped by more than 80 percent, to $49,000,000, between
the 4-year period ending June 30, 1926, and that ending June 30,
1935. Net imports of "wool and mohair" decreased by nearly 90
percent, to $15,000,000 for the same periods.
These changes reflect both a decreasing export market and chang-
ing requirements at home. Stockmen no longer have the advantage
of a continuously expanding domestic market.
Manufacturers can rather easily restrict their output to demands,
but because of the nature of the enterprise similar action by livestock
producers is much more difficult. Some means of avoiding unman-
ageable surpluses will undoubtedly be desirable in the interest of the
producer and consumer alike.
MARKETS
To overcome marketing handicaps producers have in their own
hands such means as cooperative associations and the uniform grad-
ing of their products. The public can continue to assist by encour-
aging cooperative marketing ; by studying such questions as distribu-
tion, marketing differentials, the demands of the trade, etc., and
making the information available; and by preventing combinations
in restraint of trade and unfair practices prejudicial to the livestock
producer.
CREDIT
The prime needs in the credit situation are to adapt credits to the
requirements of the livestock industry, as to period of loans and
THE MAJOR RANGE PROBLEMS
51
rate of interest, to base loans on the productivity of both the range
resource and livestock as collateral, and to couple with loans the
requirement that the range resource be maintained.
More favorable and satisfactory public credit facilities are rapidly
being developed under the Farm Credit Administration.
TAXATION
Much more exact information is required before any great im-
provement in the taxation system can be expected. While the task
of obtaining such information is a public obligation, the livestock
industry can encourage such undertakings.
RESEARCH AND EXTENSION
Both research and extension are primarily public responsibilities,
but should be encouraged by the livestock interests. The program
needed is outlined hereafter.
IN PUBLIC LAND ADMINISTRATION
Exclusive of that proposed for Federal and State acquisition, the
areas of publicly owned or controlled range land with which the
following program deals are summarized in table 4.
TABLE 4. Area* of publicly owned range lands
Ownership or control
Range area
Available
range
Federal:
National forests
Acres
88, 000, 000
Acres
82, 500, 000
Grazing districts
i 65 500 000
'60,600,000
Public domain
1 96, 700, 000
67, 200, 000
Other
23 000 000
21 600 000
Indian lands . .
48, 400, 000
48, 400, 000
State, county, etc
65 500 000
65 100 000
1 Gross area.
1 Also total range area.
Here again, despite repetition, the action of greatest immediate
urgency and importance should be restated in order to obtain the
proper emphasis on the various provisions of the public range land
program proposed : To transfer jurisdiction to agricultural agencies
in order to obtain effective correlation and administration; place
all remaining lands under administration in order to reduce exces-
sive stocking, get ranges under management, arid reverse forage and
soil depletion processes; in administration and management, to fol-
low the multiple-use principle, obtain a sound distribution of the
grazing privilege, and avoid prescriptive rights; consolidate hold-
ings into efficient administrative units ; relieve private owners of the
lands they cannot carry, by purchase or acceptance of gifts ; rectify
the chaotic tax-delinquency situation; and use public lands as an
affirmative means to social and economic security.
52 THE WESTERN KANGE
FEDERAL, RANGE LAND JURISDICTION
One of the most urgent problems confronting the administration
of the Federal range lands is that of jurisdiction. The 82.5 mil-
lion acres of available range in the national forests is administered
by the Forest Service in the Department of Agriculture, but the 60.6
million acres already in grazing districts is administered by the
Grazing Division in the Department of the Interior. The latter
Department is also responsible for the 67.2 million acres in the pub-
lic domain which have not been placed under administration.
Some fundamental differences in national forest, and grazing dis-
trict and public-domain lands, as well as some fundamental similari-
ties, must be recognized. The national forests contain important
timber, watershed, wildlife, and recreational resources which are
intermingled with and cannot be segregated from the range resource.
The grazing districts, the public domain, and various other un-
managed Federal withdrawals are largely arid or semiarid lands
valuable primarily for grazing, but in part having very high water-
shed values and also values for wildlife and recreation.
Because of the fundamental differences, the territorial integrity of
both classes of units should be maintained. But some boundary ad-
justments are needed to place in each the resources it is designed
primarily to conserve, to round out natural topographic units, and
to simplify administration.
Because of the fundamental similarities, the range administra-
tion of both classes must be closely correlated. Both must be in-
tegrated with ranch and farm lands, and in many cases with the
same lands. Large numbers of livestock, and game in some in-
stances, are dependent on the national forests for summer range
and the grazing districts for winter range. The grazing districts
can relieve the shortage of spring-fall range on the national forests.
Some range improvements can serve both classes of land. Both can
benefit by an interchange of supervisory and technical services and
information.
Having to deal with two entirely distinct personnel groups in two
Departments on different phases of a single problem creates an im-
possible situation for the user. Policies, procedure, legislation, point
of view, and basic theories which should be consistent are bound to
differ.
Practical experience shows conclusively that misunderstandings,
conflicts, and jurisdictional disputes, all of which reduce efficiency
and public service, are bound to arise. Stockmen are placed in a
position in which the easiest way out may seem to be to play one
department against the other, often to their own detriment and that
of the resource.
Finally the ultimate cost to the public of separate departmental
jurisdiction, assuming thoroughly efficient administration, and tak-
ing duplication of effort and field and overhead organizations, etc.,
into account, will certainly be higher. In short, there seems to las no
justification whatever for splitting jurisdiction between two depart-
ments.
A decision on the most logical and effective jurisdiction should
take the following factors into account :
THE MAJOR RANGE PROBLEMS 53
The management of range and also of forest lands is agriculture
pure and simple. It deals with the soil, the interrelation of soil and
plant cover, water and climate, with plants and animals, the dis-
eases and insects affecting both, with the maintenance of biological
balances between plant and animal life, with the growing and har-
vesting or utilization of crops, in fact, with all of the "problems
relating to the growth from the soil." It deals with the economic
and social as well as the biological problems of land use in all of
their phases. It must rest upon the biological and economic sciences
which have to do with soil, water, climate, plants, animals, and land.
The forage on public ranges is used by livestock from the farms
and ranches, which are fed increasingly on farm forage crops. West-
ern crops are largely dependent on irrigation water from forest and
range watersheds. The use of the public range and forest land and
private range and farm land is interrelated in innumerable other
ways.
The Department of Agriculture, as one of its major projects, is
attempting to meet the Federal obligation to help agriculture
develop a sound program. In this undertaking the problems of the
public range and forest lands cannot be separated from those of
other range and crop lands.
Nearly all the Federal bureaus charged with research and admin-
istration relating directly and vitally to forestry and range man-
agement and to the development of a land-use program are in the
Department of Agriculture (fig. 84). It is the duly constituted and
authorized Federal agency for dealing with the agriculturist. It
works in close cooperation with the State agricultural colleges, ex-
periment stations, and extension services.
The Department of Agriculture is, therefore, the logical and, in
fact, the only well-equipped department for the administration of
federally owned range and forest lands.
PRINCIPLES OF ADMINISTRATION
The principles which should govern the administration of all fed-
erally owned range lands, whether on the national forests or the
grazing districts, including the public domain and other Federal
withdrawals and reservations, are:
1. Management which will restore and maintain in perpetuity on
a sustained yield basis, and utilize, all of the resources of the land.
2. The correlated use of all the resources to obtain the highest
net public benefits.
3. The integration of the public-range resources with privately
owned crop and range lands to obtain the highest benefits from all of
the lands locally, regionally, and nationally.
4. An equitable distribution of the grazing privilege, based on
the highest net public benefits, to those who are dependent upon and
are entitled to use the range.
5. Readjustments of land ownership and use where needed and
justified to facilitate economical and efficient management and ad-
ministration of public range lands.
6. A decentralized administration qualified to settle local problems
in accordance with local requirements, and responsive to the advice
54 THE WESTERN RANGE
and assistance of local users to the extent consistent with the protec-
tion of the public interest the antithesis of bureaucracy.
The application of these principles requires a far greater devel-
opment of research than has hitherto been possible, and the prompt
and full use of the findings. The purpose of enhancing private
opportunity on lands suitable for such ownership, and the still
broader purpose of insuring the greatest possible social and economic
stability of the dependent agricultural and other population, must
underlie the entire administration of the public range resource.
NATIONAL FORESTS
The principles outlined, with occasional minor modifications to
meet conditions, have been the basis for national forest administra-
tion for many years. The chief tasks of the future are :
years snouia maKe it possible lor tnese ranges to carry
20 percent more stock than the present grazing capacity of the range.
2. A strengthening of range management; including the prepara-
tion and use of intensive management plans on the 40 million acres
not now so covered and periodical revision when necessary ; seasonal
adjustments not satisfactorily solved on about 12 percent of range
allotments ; reseeding of about 780,000 acres ; other special treatment
for sore spots ; improvements such as water developments and fenc-
ing, rodent control, etc.
3. Improvement in the basis for the distribution of the grazing
privileges to insure a more effective tie with privately owned lands
and to afford greater security to the small private operation de-
pendent on and entitled to use public ranges.
4. Occasional changes for a better correlation of range uses.
Approximately half, or 43 million acres, of the national forest
range area is forest land capable of producing commercial timber.
On such lands timber production will have to be the dominant use
because of the provisions of organic legislation and the general
purposes for which the national forests were created. Grazing use
will generally be possible but will have to be made contingent upon
the protection of forest growth and continuous forest production.
About 22 million acres additional is noncommercial forest in which
the correlation required will be between livestock grazing and water-
shed protection.
Since organic national forest legislation provides for "maintain-
ing favorable conditions of water flow" the handling of livestock
grazing must insure watershed protection. On relatively limited
areas special erosion-control measures are required.
GRAZING DISTRICTS, PUBLIC DOMAIN, AND OTHER FEDERAL
Practically the entire problem of placing the grazing districts and
public domain under management lies ahead. The complexity and
difficulty of the task is accentuated by the existing depletion of
nearly 70 percent, by the fact that 93 percent is still on the down
grade, by long-established traditions of use, by an extremely involved
THE MAJOR RANGE PROBLEMS 55
ownership pattern in some regions, and by private holdings of key
areas in others.
To carry out such an essential measure as placing the remaining
half of the public domain under administration and to insure
permanence will require the modification of existing legislation.
To carry out other essential measures such as an equitable dis-
tribution of grazing privileges; the reduction of stocking, which
now exceeds grazing capacity by 43 percent (fig. 21), to insure co-
ordinated use of all the range resources; to avoid the establishment
of prescriptive rights; and to avoid a conflict between Federal and
State authority will require exceptionally favorable interpretation
of the Grazing Act in the public interest, and probably also its
modification.
In addition to the reduction of stocking, essentials in the field of
technical management include putting sound systems of range man-
agement into effect, making adjustments in seasonal use, artificial
restoration on at least 18 million acres, the control of erosion on
many millions of acres, surveys, preparation and putting manage-
ment plans into effect for the entire area, and a large improve-
ment program designed to aid technical management.
The measures proposed should increase the present grazing ca-
pacity of the grazing district-public domain range by 76 percent
in 50 years. Or putting it in another way, 50 years' effort will be
necessary to build the range up to the point where it can carry
safely the livestock now being grazed.
Some provision should be made for the administration and man-
agement of the 21.6 million acres of available range on other reserva-
tions and withdrawals, preferably by the Secretary of Agriculture
with the concurrence of the Secretary of primary jurisdiction.
Definite provision is necessary also to prevent further alienation
of Federal lands unsuitable for private ownership. One prerequi-
site for transfer should be classification by the Department of Agri-
culture, which should appraise not only the suitability of the land
for private ownership but also the size of the unit required.
INDIAN LANDS
The primary objective in range management on 48 million acres of
Indian owned but federally controlled range land is the social and
economic advancement and security of the Indians.
The major and most pressing task is the rehabilitation of de-
pleted ranges. For all Indian lands an estimated reduction in
stocking averaging 26 percent is required to reach grazing capacity
(fig. 21), and a still higjier reduction is necessary on the half of
the Indian grazing land in the Southwest where the depletion is
worst.
This is a difficult situation, for unless depletion is stopped the
Indians face ruin through the loss of one of their most important
resources, but drastic livestock reductions will create another difficult
problem. Removal of white-owned livestock, more equitable dis-
tribution of grazing privileges among the Indians, the purchase of
additional range, the initiation of work projects, and the develop-
ment of supplemental industries are possible shock absorbers.
56 THE WESTEKN KANGE
Reductions in stocking must be accompanied by other improve-
ments in range management, removal of worthless horses, rodent
control, special erosion control, and artificial revegetation.
The consummation of the program proposed will, it is estimated,
permit the grazing of about 13 percent more livestock 50 years
hence than are now grazed.
STATE AND COUNTY LANDS
State and county range lands, aggregating some 66 million acres,
fall into two general classes.
The first is the remnant of Federal grants to States designed to
produce revenue for schools and other institutions. In the main
these lands have been leased without control to obtain maximum
current revenue and as a result have been depleted by 49 percent,
and 88 percent of the total area is still on the downgrade.
The difficulty of the problem that the States face in these lands
should not be minimized. The policy so far followed will ulti-
mately defeat the purpose of the grants unless ways and means
are developed to restore and conserve the resources which give the
lands their value. In some instances already the ranges have been
depreciated so far that they can no longer be leased. While con-
stitutional and other limitations have been a factor, the very fact
that these lands have not already been sold is an indication that a
substantial part is submarginal for private ownership and should
be retained by the public.
The other horn of the dilemma is that the State institutions are
dependent in varjdng degree upon the receipts, and the range can-
not be restored and administered without expenditures which may
equal the receipts. The soundest course in the long run will prob-
ably be to restore and maintain the resource, making what other
provision may be necessary for the institutions.
The second class is made up of private lands which have reverted
to the States or counties through tax delinquency. That the total
area is large is certain, but its exact extent is unknown. Much
tax-delinquent land is still in a twilight zone between private and
public ownership. Without doubt submarginality for private own-
ership is a primary cause. Depletion is also a primary cause be-
cause it has reduced the productive capacity of the lands and hence
the returns from them. The combined depression and drought has
hit hardest the poor and depleted lands and uneconomic units.
To meet the increasingly serious problem created by this "new
public domain" a revolutionary change in policy in most if not all
States is required. Only those lands above the marginal line on
which the private owner has a chance for success, and those without
high public values, should be returned to private ownership. Those
below and those with high public values should be retained under
public control. A differentiation can be worked out by such means
as classification or zoning. On tax-reverted lands the problems of
restoration and management are identical with those on institutional
lands.
Except for possible minor modifications the principles which
should govern management and administration are the same as those
for Federal lands. A primary consideration will necessarily have
THE MAJOE RANGE PROBLEMS 57
to be, as for Federal lands, the placing of responsibility for a purely
agricultural function in agricultural agencies. Widely scattered
small units will require consolidations through exchanges or other-
wise. Stocking should be reduced to what the range can safely
carry (fig. 21). State and Federal cooperation may be helpful in
some instances.
PUBLIC ACQUISITION
A program has been outlined, having as its objective the keeping
of private ownership as fully in the range picture as reasonable
financial returns permit, by the removal of existing handicaps and
the solution of existing problems.
The swing from public to private ownership has gone so far,
however, that the maximum feasible self-help by private owners
supplemented by everything that the public can reasonably be ex-
pected to contribute will still leave a major problem on a part of the
376 million acres of range land now privately owned. The classes
of land involved are :
1. Approximately 15 million acres of range land on which the
dry-farming effort has clearly failed, and on which private owner-
ship now seems to be at the end of its rope. Failure has led to tax
delinquency, abandonment, excessive relief rolls, and a long train
of other adverse social and economic consequences. Unless artificial
revegetation costing from $3 to $3.50 per acre is resorted to, nat-
ural processes will not restore the forage cover for years or even
decades. The cost of revegetation or the alternative of protracted
holding of unproductive land are both beyond the capacity of the
private owner. Some other constructive action is therefore called
for on what was, and is potentially, some of the best or most needed
western range.
2. Range lands submarginal for private ownership, because of low
or uncertain forage productivity, excessive depletion and slow re-
covery, high ownership costs such as investments required, improve-
ments, taxes, etc. Low productivity and high costs are both accen-
tuated by marketing costs, which are very high for all of the far
western range States except California, in comparison with those
of the Middle Western States. Taking all factors into account, the
tall-grass prairies and the short-grass plains east of the Rockies
offer the most favorable opportunities for private ownership, and the
salt-desert shrub and southern desert shrub of the Intermpuntain
and Southwest regions the least favorable. The best approximation
which can now be made places 113 million acres of this category in
the problem class.
3. Coinciding closely with the submarginal land area is a large
area of range lands having high public values for watershed pro-
tection. The constructive management of these lands is a critical
watershed problem, and because of the cost of the range restoration,
restricted grazing, and other special erosion-control measures re-
quired, from many of which the public rather than the private owner
will benefit, it is difficult if not impossible to hold them under pri-
vate ownership. The total area of such watershed lands is about
118 million acres. It includes about 107 million acres of more or
less seriously eroding land contributing silt to important western
streams.
58 THE WESTERN EANGE
4. In the high public-value class are also about 6 million acres
of privately owned range land needed in part for wildlife. These
areas are widely scattered and are required to provide for such spe-
cific wildlife needs as winter ranges for deer and elk herds which
summer in the national forests. These areas fall almost entirely
within the two preceding classes.
5. Within and adjacent to the national forests are about 18.9 mil-
lion acres of private range land, in part forested, which are needed
to round out administrative units or for other administrative pur-
poses and which should be acquired by the Federal Government.
Some of these lands are probably also submarginal for private
ownership.
Except for a small part of the land area discussed above, justifica-
tion for public ownership depends upon more than one considera-
tion. Submarginality for the greater part of the area is, for exam-
ple, accentuated by high public watershed values. After making the
necessary adjustments for the overlapping of the various classes,
the area which should be taken over by the public totals on a very
conservative basis about 125 million acres, or one-third of the range
land now in private ownership.
Outright subsidies to hold submarginal and special public-interest
lands in private ownership are very difficult to justify. For much
of the area involved they would constitute a perpetual drain on the
public treasuries, and for the private owner would merely postpone
the day of final reckoning. Other possible alternatives which should
be considered for the solution of this problem are very limited.
Legal regulation of private range lands, and particularly those
of the classes described, encounters the difficulty that improvements
in land conditions through better husbandry would cost money,
while even with past husbandry the cards have been stacked against
the private owner. Furthermore, regulation would be seriously
handicapped unless it were supported by the large majority of own-
ers, which is far from being the case.
The only additional alternatives seem to be public acquisition of
the land by tax delinquency, by gift, or by purchase.
Although the record of both Federal and State management of
range lands is spotty, the possibilities of constructive management
have been shown on the national forests and some progress has been
made on Indian lands. Even without the suggested acquisition pro-
gram both the Federal Government and the States have large un-
solved problems of range administration.
Since public acquisition in one form or another strikes directly
at the problems of what to do with lands submarginal for private
ownership and of those having high public values, it seems the only
possible course, despite the problems for which public agencies still
have to redeem their responsibilities, the long time which will be re-
quired for the consummation of the program, and the cost.
Acquisition by tax delinquency means letting the situation work
itself out gradually through the play of economic forces. This plan
has obvious advantages, and regardless of other action will have a
place in the solution, but against the advantages must be weighed
further depletion of the range resource, losses from the lack of
watershed protection, and even more important, an appalling human
wastage.
THE MAJOE RANGE PROBLEMS 59
It is quite possible that considerable areas might be given outright
to either the Federal Government or the States if the way were
paved. Further inducements might be authority to pay an equitable
proportion of accrued taxes, or the privilege of free use of the range
under proper control for a limited number of years.
For much of the area, however, the only recourse will probably
be outright purchase.
The transfer of large areas to Federal ownership will require suit-
able provision for payments to States and counties in lieu of taxes.
Similar provision for counties will be necessary for lands acquired
by the States.
This report is a first attempt to appraise the nature and extent of
the various widespread and apparent fundamental maladjustments
in ownership and in the kind of use of range lands and the remedies
for them. The conclusions on the desirable or required shifts in
ownership are necessarily approximations. A large amount of de-
tailed study covering the entire range territory will be required to
work out exact areas, locations, etc. Such detailed work is essential
also to determine an equitable division of responsibility between the
States and the Federal Government for which the data now available
does not Justify even an approximation.
One thing is clear, that the job of range-land acquisition is large
and that it is essential in the public interest. A reasonable start is
justified, even though the size of the job is not known with accuracy
and though a division between the States and the Federal Govern-
ment remains to be worked out. Since both public action and inac-
tion have helped to create the problem, it is clearly up to the public
to initiate efforts for its solution.
IN RESEARCH AND EXTENSION
Lack of knowledge, the inevitable outcome of the belated begin-
ning of research and the small scale on which it has been conducted,
has been one of the most important contributing factors to rule-of-
thumb management of the range, and hence to practically universal
range depletion and to the social and economic maladjustments and
losses which have resulted. It is partly responsible for allowing
problems inherently difficult to drift until they have become so acute
that drastic remedial action is imperative to save a great natural
resource and the population that is based on it. The high cost of
the program of rehabilitation is in part the price which must now
be paid for a lack of knowledge. And ironically, the knowledge
must still in the main be acquired.
The only alternative choice to the long, slow, costly, and incon-
clusive working out of large-scale trial and error in acquiring knowl-
edge is research. Research, in fact, offers the cheapest and the only
practical basis for obtaining the information needed to bring about
the fullest productive use of range lands for livestock grazing, water-
shed protection, forest growth, recreation, and wildlife, and for a
sound correlation of these uses.
Research and the effort necessary to carry the results into applica-
tion are needed by private owners and equally by the administra-
tors of public lands. They offer one of the most effective forms of
public aid to the private owner.
60 THE WESTERN RANGE
The major lines of research required are:
1. Range management, to improve existing systems or to develop
new systems for handling each of the range types, and covering also
degree of stocking, seasonal use, class of stock, methods of handling
livestock under range conditions, restoration by natural revegeta-
tion and subsequent maintenance in a high state of productivity.
It must include all forms of use and service.
Basic to range management is the need for detailed information
on the characteristics, habits, requirements, value, etc., of individual
range plants; and also information on the characteristics, behavior,
competitive relationships, succession, soil, and other requirements,
etc., of the associations of range plants which form types.
2. Artificial revegetation, to develop quick, low-cost reseeding
and transplanting methods of restoring vegetation on the depleted
ranges for grazing and watershed and other purposes. For artificial
revegetation there is also the need to develop improved strains of
range plants or hybrids, and also to explore the possibility of foreign
introductions.
3. Watershed investigations, to determine methods of managing
the plant cover of range watersheds to prevent erosion, silting, and
floods, and assure the maximum supply of usable water. This in-
volves a clear understanding of the part that the cover in varying
degrees of composition, density, etc., and under different soil, topo-
graphic, climatic, grazing, and other conditions plays in erosion and
run-off. Practical special-control measures should also be developed
for use in arresting aggravated erosion as a preliminary to the re-
establishment of plant cover.
4. Wildlife, to develop basic principles and methods for restoring
environmental conditions and for managing the wildlife resource as
a crop, both in proper relation to other products and services of wild
lands. This necessitates also a full understanding of the life
histories, requirements, etc., of the wildlife species.
5. Animal husbandry, to improve or develop livestock strains es-
pecially adapted to range conditions and to market requirements,
and also better breeding and feeding methods.
6. Economics, to determine the proper place of western range
livestock production in the local, regional, and national picture ; the
most effective integration of range and crop agriculture; costs, re-
turns, profits, and other information needed for the determination
of satisfactory economic units and for the efficient handling of in-
dividual enterprises; a sound basis for the highest use of range
land for grazing or other purposes; a sound allocation between
private and public ownership and between the States and the Federal
Government; the basis needed for policies and administration of
public lands; and, in general, the basis for sound land use and for
social and economic security.
7. Additional investigations needed include climate, entomology,
etc.
The range research so far done will permit vast improvements over
nearly all existing practices so that there is no need for delaying
initial action on a constructive program. For the full consummation
of the program recommended, however, it is only a meager beginning.
THE MAJOR KANGE PEOBLEMS 61
The responsibility for range research rests with
The Federal Government for work on interstate, regional, and
national problems, and on local problems for the administration of
Federally owned or controlled lands.
The States for work on local and State problems and on other
problems where the administration of State lands or those of minor
political subdivisions are concerned.
Endowed institutions have the opportunity for work on a wide
range of problems, and particularly those of a fundamental
character.
Private agencies, and associations in particular, have the oppor-
tunity to round out and supplement the work which other agencies
can do.
Past experience has shown that the most effective application of
the results of agricultural research can be obtained through extension.
In the range-animal husbandry field extension activities have been
partly responsible for marked improvements, but extension in range
management has been almost wholly neglected. Provision for re-
search fails in its real objective unless its results are made known
through extension in such a way that they can be applied by the
private owner. An essential feature is aid and advice in the prepa-
ration and carrying out of sound management plans.
IN LEGISLATION
Both Federal and State legislation will be required to carry out the
program recommended. The more important provisions are :
FEDERAL
PUBLIC DOMAIN AND GRAZING DISTRICTS
1. To transfer jurisdiction of the public domain and the grazing
districts from the Department of the Interior to the Department of
Agriculture.
2. Necessary or desirable modifications of the Grazing Act of June
28, 1934:
To place all of the public domain under permanent Federal man-
agement.
To prevent the establishment of prescriptive rights.
To allow the distribution of grazing privileges necessary for both
social and economic security to the greatest number entitled to use
the range.
To authorize administration of all range resources, forage, water-
shed, wildlife, in accordance with the multiple-use principle and for
the highest public benefits.
To clarify Federal authority in the administration of its own
lands.
To authorize the leasing of isolated tracts of Federal lands of less
than 640 acres.
To authorize the President, upon the recommendation of the Na-
tional Forest Reservation Commission, to transfer to the national
forests from the public domain or the grazing districts lands which
in the judgment of the Secretary of Agriculture meet national-forest
specifications.
62 THE WESTERN RANGE
3. Unless fully authorized, as on the Indian reservations, to pro-
vide for the administration of ranges on all other Federal reserva-
tions and withdrawals, where not inconsistent with their purposes,
by the Secretary of Agriculture with the concurrence of the Secre-
tary of primary jurisdiction.
THE TRANSFER OF PRIVATE LANDS TO FEDERAL OWNERSHIP
1. To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to transfer to national
forests or grazing districts, lands purchased by Federal agencies, if
they meet the qualifications for such unite.
2. To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to purchase range
lands submarginal for private ownership or needed for public benefits
such as watershed protection, upon approval of the National Forest
Keservation Commission, and to add them to national forests or
grazing districts.
3. To broaden existing authority so that the Secretary of Agri-
culture could make exchanges with private or other public owners
within or adjacent to national forests or grazing districts on the
basis of equal land or grazing values, in order to consolidate owner-
ships for more efficient administration, and also to pay costs of
transfer and an equitable part of unpaid taxes on donated lands.
TRANSFERS TO PRIVATE OWNERSHIP
To provide for the classification by the Secretary of Agriculture of
Federal lands in the public domain as most suitable for private own-
ership, as a prerequisite for alienation, coupled with other provisions
as to maximum size of units, etc., which will prevent a repetition of
the mistakes of the past. More study will be necessary to afford a
satisfactory basis for such legislation.
EXTENSION
To provide for aid to private owners through extension in coopera-
tion with State agencies.
STATE
Legislation which will substitute for sale or other disposal to
private owners the retention and sustained yield management of
range lands now in State ownership or which may hereafter be
acquired, which are unsuitable for private ownership. This will
include :
1. Possible revision of State constitutions and Federal enabling
legislation.
2. The setting up of professionally qualified administrative
agencies.
3. The revision where necessary of tax-delinquency legislation.
4. Provision for consolidations through exchanges with private
owners and the Federal Government.
5. Provision for classification by competent agricultural agencies
as a prerequisite to passage to private ownership.
6. Provision for cooperation with the Federal Government on the
administration of intermingled holdings.
THE MAJOR RANGE PROBLEMS 63
7. Provision for the acquisition by gift or purchase and manage-
ment of lands submarginal for private ownership or having high
public values.
8. Provision for cooperative aid to private owners of range land,
in research and extension.
9. Authority to form cooperative range management associations.
10. Provision for the handling of wildlife: On a sustained crop-
management basis; with professionally trained organizations; under
flexible laws which outline principles but delegate authority to make
adjustments in administration necessary to meet rapidly changing
conditions; in cooperation with the Federal Government on Federal
lands; some reasonable incentive to private owners to protect and
produce wildlife on their lands.
COSTS AND RETURNS
The cost of carrying out any such constructive program as that
outlined for 728 million acres of range land will be high. Unfortu-
nately, postponement will only increase the final cost, because the
longer the destructive forces now in effect continue the more the
ground that must be regained. The cost will fall upon the Federal
Government, the States, and private owners.
The following estimates of cost are based on 30 years' experience
in the handling of the national forests and on special surveys con-
ducted on the public domain and on privately owned lands. The
estimates are for the amounts believed necessary to carry out the
program recommended. In the light of extended national forest
experience in which the rebuilding of the range resource has been
retarded by inadequate funds, it is not believed that the public
ranges, at least, can be restored and maintained for less than the
amounts stated. The estimates are given because of the conviction
that the public should have a full understanding of probable costs
before embarking on a much larger enterprise than that now under
way. No estimates have been made for special erosion control be-
cause of uncertainty as to the area which should receive special treat-
ment other than revegetation, and what such treatment would cost.
Special treatments are still in an early developmental stage.
The proposed expenditures fall into four categories capital in-
vestments in improvements, current expenditures for administration,
the public acquisition of land, and research and extension.
NATIONAL FORESTS
Annual costs first 5-year period
Capital investments, including range surveys, fences, water develop-
ment, revegetation, rodent control, etc $1, 140, 000
Grazing administration on 82.5 million acres at $0.0149 per acre
(present cost $0.0089 per acre or $734,000) 1,234,000
Wildlife administration on 120 million acres at $0.006 per acre
(present cost $0.0018 per acre or $216,000) 720,000
Maintenance and replacement of improvements 742,000
Total annual cost 3, 836, 000
For the second 5-year period annual expenditures for capital in-
vestments would be reduced to $910,000 and for the maintenance and
64 THE WESTEKN RANGE
replacement of improvements increased to $986,000, making the total
annual cost $3,850,000.
GRAZING DISTRICTS, PUBLIC DOMAIN, AND OTHER FEDERAL
Annual costs first 5-year period
Capital investments, chiefly revegetation, 149.4 million acres $3, 536, 000
Grazing administration at $0.0151 per acre 2, 260, 000
Wildlife administration at $0.001 per acre 150, 000
Total annual cost 5, 946, 000
For the second 5-year period annual expenditures for capital in-
vestments would be reduced to $3,403,000, and for maintenance and
replacement of improvements would amount to $550,000, so that the
total annual cost would be $6,363,000.
INDIAN LANDS
Annual costs -first 5-year period
Capital investments, 48.4 million acres $766,000
Grazing administration, at $0.011 per acre (present cost $0.005 per
acre, or $242,000) . __ 532,000
Wildlife administration, at $0.001 per acre 48,000
Maintenance and replacement of improvements , 75, 000
Total annual cost 1,421,000
For the second 5-year period annual expenditures for capital in-
vestments would be reduced to $532,000, and for maintenance and
replacement of improvements would be increased to $232,000, so
that the total annual cost would be $1,344,000.
STATE AND COUNTY LANDS
Annual costs first 5-year period
Capital investments, 65 million acres $1,313,000
Administration (minimum) 754, 000
Total annual cost . 2,067,000
During the second 5-year period, maintenance and replacement
of improvements would probably cost about $150,000 annually, mak-
ing the total annual cost $2,217,000.
PRIVATE LANDS
The annual capital investments needed during the first 10-year
period on the 376 million acres now in private ownership is esti-
mated at $6,416,000, of which the largest item is about $4,800,000 for
revegetation. Incidental labor will take care of a substantial part of
this cost, and furthermore it will be reduced by the rate and extent
that the public assumes the burden through acquisition of the poorer
private lands where costs of restoration, etc., would be highest.
THE MAJOR RANGE PROBLEMS 65
PUBLIC ACQUISITION OF PRIVATE LANDS
The acquisition of 125 million acres of submarginal watershed and
other high public-value land would require at least 20 years. Taking
into account gifts with or without payment of accrued taxes, tax
delinquency, and direct purchase, the cost might average $1 per acre,
or about $6,300,000 annually.
The annual cost of public administration is estimated at about
$0.015 per acre, to which should be added capital investments of
about $0.017 per acre annually during the first 10 years. The rate
at which total annual costs build up will be governed by the speed
of acquisition. The latter figures duplicate estimates already given
and will correspondingly reduce the expenditures by private owners.
The Federal and State shares of these costs will obviously depend
upon the division of the areas acquired between these agencies.
RESEARCH AND EXTENSION
To meet the requirements for all classes of range research it is
estimated that expenditures by all agencies should reach an annual
total of $2,750,000 in a 10-year period, this by gradual increases over
current expenditures of about $750,000. Of the former total the
Federal Government should assume the responsibility for about
$2,000,000 and the States for $550,000, leaving a $200,000 balance for
other agencies.
The cost of range extension estimated at $1,000.000 annually should
be borne about equally by the Federal Government and the States.
The estimated maximum cost should, if possible, be reached in about
10 years.
RETURNS
The high cost of rehabilitation and administration of publicly
owned range lands makes the possibility of self-liquidation a ques-
tion of both public and private interest.
Looking ahead, it is doubtful if the Federal Government can any
more than break even on any comprehensive program of range res-
toration and intensive management on the national forests and the
grazing districts, even though grazing fees on the national forests
were ultimately increased by about 30 percent above the base fees,
and those on the grazing districts were made approximately equal
to the national forest base fees.
Even then, account is taken neither of the uncertain cost of special
erosion-control measures nor of Federal contributions to States and
counties in lieu of taxes, which in a sense are the transfer of funds
from one public purse to another.
Grazing fees high enough on both the national forests and the
grazing districts to enable the Federal Government to break approxi-
mately even seem fully justified. Fully productive, well-managed
ranges should result in higher returns to the stockmen and justify
somewhat higher fees than those now charged on the national forests
and those apparently contemplated for the grazing districts.
Sight should not be lost of the fact, however, that the public
receives other tangible and intangible benefits from fully produc-
6494636 6
66 THE WESTERN RANGE
tive ranges. Among the largest and most important of these are
the far-reaching benefits from watershed protection. Of great im-
portance also is the fact that range use can hardly be eliminated
from western agriculture without wrecking the entire structure.
Furthermore, range livestock production alone furnishes a liveli-
hood for a large number of people. Other benefits in which both
the Federal and State governments share are the sustained taxable
value of related lands, income and other taxes, and direct and in-
direct returns from hunting, fishing, and recreational use.
Essentially the same considerations hold on State range lands
as on Federal.
Despite radical readjustments and increased capital investments,
the program proposed should work out to the financial advantage
of the private owner. He should gradually be relieved of submar-
ginal and high public-value lands. His financial handicaps should
be reduced. He should have the advantage of an increasing volume
of cheap range feed, of increased unit livestock production, of de-
creased production costs, and of greater profits.
THE KEY TO KEMEDIAL ACTION
In the complex range pattern, with its multiplicity of interrelated
overlapping problems, which require a corresponding multiplicity
of interrelated overlapping remedial measures, a clear-cut focal
point a center of responsibility among public agencies is neces-
sary in planning, initiating, correlating, and consummating action
if public obligations are to be redeemed.
This is true of privately owned range lands and livestock, in
which the maximum of self-help ordinarily depends on some meas-
ure of public leadership and aid to create conditions under which
self-help can be effective or even start.
It is equally true of publicly owned range lands where, as already
shown, the splitting of jurisdiction of this agricultural problem
between different agencies almost inevitably means working at cross
purposes, inefficiency, and excessive costs. Furthermore, public
lands cannot be divorced from their surroundings. Such lands have
a direct and vital bearing on the ranch owner and his welfare and
must be handled in full recognition of this fact. This bearing ex-
tends far beyond private range lands and livestock to private crop-
lands, and to the entire agricultural structure.
A check of the broader groups of problems and their solution will
still further illustrate and emphasize this point of view.
Take for example the broad group of problems centering in the
reversal of the range and soil-depletion process, and requiring such
action as the removal of large numbers of excess stock.
Or take the equally broad group of ownership and use problems
requiring large shifts from private to public ownership, or range
restoration on mistakenly cropped lands, or the building of units of
economic size.
Or the large number of additional problems of private ownership
requiring the removal of financial handicaps or the recognition of
the responsibility of stewardship.
Or the problems already referred to involving lands now in public
ownership or those hereafter acquired.
THE MAJOR RANGE PROBLEMS 67
Or the problem of knowledge and its application, requiring range
and livestock and land-use research and extension.
Or those centering in human wastage in agricultural communi-
ties requiring action to insure social and economic security.
The lack of clear-cut centralized responsibility up to the present
time has undoubtedly contributed in a major way to the neglect and
abuse of the range resource. In far too many instances what has
been everyone's responsibility has been no one's responsibility. It
seems futile to continue an arrangement which has led to such re-
sults. Centralized responsibility affords the only way in which the
general public can hope to hold its agencies to a strict accountability.
Any consideration of Federal activities other than the jurisdiction
over Federal range lands research, extension, general agricultural
integration, and aid in various other forms make still more con-
clusive the fundamental soundness of the centralization of full Fed-
eral responsibility in the Department of Agriculture for an activity
which is agriculture to the core.
Within their spheres of action the States must face and meet sim-
ilar problems of responsibility and organization.
IS REMEDIAL ACTION WORTH WHILE?
The program outlined for the solution of the range problem runs
into very large sums of money which will constitute a heavy drain,
particularly on Federal and State treasuries. Large as they are,
these expenditures are only a part of the price which must be paid
for the wasteful use and destruction of a great natural resource.
Still another part of the price is the time over which the reconstruc-
tion effort must continue. It has taken little more than half a cen-
tury to reduce the productivity of the range by about half, and it
will probably take at least as long to bring it back to a grazing
capacity equivalent to present stocking. The cost will be a heavy
public burden, regardless of the possibility of direct returns that
in the long run may make the enterprise self -liquidating.
Is restoration worth while? This question should be raised and
squarely faced before a final decision is made. Perhaps the soundest
decision can be reached by contrasting what will happen if the effort
is not made, with the benefits if it is.
IP No ACTION Is TAKEN
If drastic and immediate action to restore the range resource is
not taken, it seems inevitable that depletion will continue. Whether
it continues more or less rapidly than in the past, the end result is
bound to be the same the Great American Desert, once only a name,
will become that in fact. If anyone questions the inexorable work-
ing of the cause and effect he need only examine the history of the
semiarid pastoral countries of southwestern Asia and the Mediter-
ranean. The more precarious range types of the Southwest and In-
termountain region will merely be the first to qualify, but the other
and more favorable types are certain to follow sooner or later.
The gradual destruction of the basic forage and soil resource will
inevitably in time reach the point where the range livestock industry
can no longer exist, The range alone can furnish the cheap feed
68 THE WESTERN KANGE
which is the most important competitive advantage in livestock pro-
duction of all except one of the 11 far- western States. With the
elimination of the range must consequently go the gradual elimina-
tion of the western livestock industry itself.
Along with the industry must go its contribution to the meat,
wool, and hide, and other requirements of the country. The extent
to which this might make the United States dependent on foreign
supplies is uncertain, but there can be no question that it will place
us in a less favorable position in which to meet future emergency
requirements, such, for example, as that of the World War.
No distinction can be drawn between the dependence on the range
of livestock and of wildlife. The flood and erosion situation on de-
pleted ranges is rapidly becoming more and more serious, and this
tendency would certainly continue and its effect would become more
and more far reaching. Not least in importance will be reduction in
the effective life of the irrigation reservoirs which depend upon
watershed protection.
Crop agriculture is now so closely integrated with the use of the
range that it is almost certain to suffer in other ways than impaired
water supplies as range problems become more and more acute.
And whatever injures either or both will extend into communi-
ties, towns, and cities dependent upon a prosperous agriculture, and
affect supply services, banking, transportation, and in fact all other
industries which are a part of the existing western civilization.
Reduced tax returns will curtail essential public activities.
The social wastage growing out of range depletion and the various
maladjustments in the use of range lands has already been very
large, but is inconsequential in comparison with the wastage which
will be inevitable if any large part of the range is entirely destroyed.
THE BENEFITS FROM RESTORATIO:N T
An area of 728 million acres of restored and fully productive
range cannot be otherwise than a source of perpetual wealth.
The maintenance of this range area would, according to the best
information now available, carry at least 17.1 million animal units
of domestic livestock 50 years hence, as compared to the 17.3 million
units which are now rapidly depreciating the range, and the 10.8
million units which it can now carry in safety (fig. 22). The gain
in the value of livestock production between the present and poten-
tial grazing capacity would undoubtedly justify the entire annual
cost of restoration several times over.
Serious depletion was one of the primary causes of the 1934 Fed-
eral expenditure of $100,000,000 to purchase starving western-range
livestock. The elimination or the drastic reduction of such expendi-
tures, which range restoration should make possible, would make a
major contribution to the cost of the program recommended. From
the standpoint of broad public policy the choice lies between mere
alleviation by periodic repetition, leaving the basic problem un-
touched, and striking directly and constructively at a primary cause
in order to make such expenditures unnecessary in the future.
Erosion and destructive floods would gradually be reduced to a
minimum, and the life of irrigation and other reservoirs greatly ex-
tended. The reduction in the annual flood-damage bill alone would
THE MAJOR RANGE PROBLEMS
69
go a long way toward carrying the annual cost of a constructive
program. Wildlife could again assume a proper place among the
products of the range and make its contributions to western life.
Only by restoration is it possible to make the range contribute as
it should to working out a satisfactory balanced and hence a
permanently prosperous western agriculture. Sources of livelihood
now so badly needed with the passing of the frontier and the replace-
Present
Grazing Capacity-
Potential (SOyrs
Grazing Capacity!
Present
Stocking
Grazing Capacity
on Virgin Range__
5 10 15 20
MILLION ANIMAL UNITS
25
FIGURE 22. PRESENT AND POTENTIAL GRAZING CAPACITY.
The present grazing capacity of the available range area, estimated at 10.8 million animal
units could, it is conservatively estimated, be increased to 17.1 million units in 50
years if the entire range area is placed under management in the immediate future.
But even this increase would fall 0.2 of a million units short of what stockmen are now
trying to carry on ranges whose productive capacity has already been reduced by
more than half. How much longer would be required to reach the original capacity
of 22.5 million units no man can say, but it might well be another half century.
Aside from human inertia, the chief retarding factor in both instances would be the
long, slow process of rebuilding the soil.
ment of labor by machinery in manufacturing, high standards of
living, stable communities and general social and economic well-
being, reasonable prices to the ultimate consumer, all depend vitally
upon the proper handling of natural resources, among which the
western range must occupy a conspicuous place.
With such contrasts in probable losses and possible benefits a
recommendation for affirmative action is the only one that can be
made.
II. THE VIRGIN RANGE
By RICHARD E. MCAEDLE, Director, and DAVID F. COSTEIXO, Assistant Conserva-
tionist, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station
The transcontinental traveler of today would have difficulty in
visualizing the western range as it was before occupancy by the white
man and his domestic livestock, for little virgin range remains in
the western United States. But nearly a century ago the "forty-
niner", on his way overland to the Pacific coast, found a vast, un-
spoiled natural reservoir of forage extending from the Mississippi
River to the Pacific Ocean and from Canada to Mexico. Much of
it was called at that time the "Great American Desert" an immense
region of rolling grassland, parched deserts, and rugged mountains ;
inhabited only by Indians and roving herds of buffalo, elk, and other
animals; with treacherous rivers to be forded and long stretches
without water of any kind, with mud or dust, blistering heat or
sudden snowstorms. Who among these overland voyagers could have
dreamed that within a few short decades other settlers would engage
in fierce wars among themselves for possession of this "desert" land ;
how could they have guessed that this land would produce five times
more wealth for the Nation through the pasturage of livestock than
all the gold they would dig out of the earth with their picks and
shovels ? For this vast desert, plain, and mountain country was soon
to become the great western range.
Before agricultural settlement by the white man, the virgin range
comprised the western two-thirds of the United States. If nongraz-
able lands such as mountain tops, almost barren deserts and dense
forests, are excluded, it encompassed nearly 850 million acres. As
might be expected for so large an area, there were tremendous varia-
tions in topography, soil, and climate. These great differences in
environment resulted in correspondingly great differences in the kind
of vegetation. In some places the range was a natural grassland
that stretched for mile upon mile without bush or tree to break the
monotony of the landscape. Other areas, less extensive, were brushy,
the intermingled grasses and weeds being inconspicuous though pres-
ent in considerable quantities. Elsewhere the range was clothed
with forests, but frequently these forests were sufficiently open to
permit the establishment of shrubs, grass, and herbaceous plants
beneath the forest canopy.
Each of these three main classes of vegetation grasslands, brush,
and forests included several distinctive types, areas characteristi-
cally possessing one or more outstanding vegetational features which
caught the eye and lingered in the memory of the early-day trans-
continental travelers. Their diaries describe how in journeying west-
ward they spent weeks crossing first the tall-grass prairies and then
the short-grass plains, "endless" grasslands extending to the very
foot of the Rocky Mountains (fig. 25, p. 85). Those who traveled
71
72 THE WESTEKN KANGE
the Oregon Trail encountered bunchgrass plains in what is now east-
ern Oregon and Washington, and those who reached the central
valley of California saw a similar type. Pioneers who traveled far
to the Southwest found near the Mexican border another type, the
semidesert grass.
The overland travelers eventually were obliged to leave the open,
grassy plains for the more laborious passage through the brush of
deserts, foothills, and lower mountain slopes. Along the northern
trails this type was sagebrush in which there was considerable grass ;
in the far Southwest was a quite different type consisting of various
southern desert shrubs, such as the creosotebush and saltbushes (fig.
30, p. 95) . In southwestern Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and the South-
west the pioneers encountered salt- desert shrubs on alkaline soils, and
in California these adventurers of covered-wagon days found chap-
arral, a dense mixture of a hundred different brush and tree species
forming almost impenetrable thickets on the foothills.
On the mountain sides above the brush fields were open forests of
gnarled piiion and juniper (fig. 34, p. 101). jAt still higher eleva-
tions, or where the soil was more moist, they encountered parklike
open forests of ponderosa pine and of aspen and fir. Denser forests
of spruce and fir, western white pine, redwood, Douglas fir, spruce,
hemlock, and lodgepole pine occurred over large areas but inter-
mingled with these forests were open, grassy meadows of varying
size.
A DETAILED PICTURE OF VIRGIN RANGE TYPES
This varied succession of range types was found widely scattered
throughout the West, often extending without a break over large
areas. Other types were local only. The descriptions of the indi-
vidual types which follow give a more detailed picture of the many
different kinds of grazing lands found in the virgin range. The
approximate total acreage 3 and grazing capacity of each range type
in its virgin condition are given in the next chapter.
TALL GRASS
Probably no part of the western range produced palatable and
nutritious forage in such abundance as the tall-grass prairies. Not
only was there an enormous volume of vegetation on the 42 million
acres in this type, 4 but there was scarcely a grass, weed, or shrub
present which could not be eaten by grazing animals. When the
white man first settled in the Midwest, the prairie extended wedge-
like from Illinois northwesterly into Canada and southwesterly into
Texas. Its western boundary, though very irregular, was in the
Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma, where the tall grass of
the prairies gradually merged with the short grass of the plains.
The vegetation of the prairies varied with topography, soil, and
moisture, but always dominating these gently rolling lands was a
mixture of several species of tall grass. An intermingling of half-
8 Areas of range types in their virgin condition are approximations based on estimates
by skilled observers and tempered by reasonably accurate information on extent of the
types 50 to 100 years ago, their recent expansions and contractions and the area in each
type which has been used for agricultural crops, roads, etc.
4 This was the area of tall grass within the limits of the present range, west of the
boundary shown in fig. 25, p. 85. East of this boundary, the prairie tall-grass type cov-
ered approximately 210 million acres, or a total of about 252 million acres.
THE VIKGIN EANGE 73
shrubs and multitudinous flowers gave the landscape variety and
color. In the moist bottom lands sloughgrass grew tall as a horse's
back. On the drier slopes other grasses, 2 or 3 feet tall, such as the
bluejoint turkeyfoot ("big bluestem"), the prairie beardgrass ("little
bluestem"), Indian grass, wild-rye, and switchgrass formed socie-
ties, characteristic in themselves, but all a part of the greater forma-
tion that was the prairie. The still drier uplands were carpeted with
shorter grasses, bluestem, needlegrasses, side-oats grama, and in some
places by the bunch-forming sand dropseed. Interspersed with
these were semiwoody and herbaceous plants that bloomed with the
change of season: goldenrods, wild daisies, the wreath aster, and a
host of associates. The silvery canescence of the leadplant or "prai-
rie shoestring", the bright yellow of the sunflower, the white of the
anemone, and the brilliant orange of the butterflyweed, or "pleurisy-
root", intermingled with the green background of the prairie grasses
in a beautiful and intricate mosaic. In late summer these bright
colors slowly faded as the vegetation dried and the prairie became a
vast sea of rusty brown.
The prairie was productive. It is hard to picture today the vast
numbers of wild fowl golden plovers, prairie chickens, geese, and
ducks that inhabited this region. Countless bison grazed in massive
herds over the country where later the settler was to find good
pasturage for his livestock. Its vastness, its productivity, and the
ease with which it restored itself all contributed toward making the
prairie an exceedingly valuable range resource.
SHORT GRASS
As the pioneer moved westward the tall-grass prairies gradually
gave way to an endless carpet of sod-forming grasses much shorter
than those of the prairies. These vast short-grass plains were for
the most part fairly level and extended from the Panhandle of Texas
northward beyond the Canadian border. The eastern edge was near
the center of the present States of Kansas, Nebraska, and the Dako-
tas; westward it stretched to the very foothills of the Rocky
Mountains, forming a belt from 300 to 600 miles wide and 280
million acres in extent.
The plains country received very much less rain than the prairies,
and, as a consequence, was dominated by grama and buffalo grass,
which needed relatively little water. The deeper-rooted, moisture-
requiring tall grasses and herbs so typical of the prairies were
almost entirely excluded.
This vast area of sod-grasses was not, however, uniform in compo-
sition throughout its entire extent. Along the western edge of the
short-grass belt in Montana and Wyoming, the short-grass type
alternated with the sagebrush and was further modified by a gener-
ous admixture of several other valuable forage plants including
wheatgrass and junegrass. Further south, along the western edge
of the short-grass plains, the grama was mixed with a great variety
of palatable herbaceous plants, some of which also were found in the
nearby mountains. In what is now western Kansas and Oklahoma,
eastern Colorado, northeastern New Mexico, and the Texas Pan-
handle, buffalo grass, galleta grass, and other grasses appeared in
greater abundance than in the more northerly portions of the type
74 THE WESTERN RANGE
Various annuals of moderate or low palatibility also appeared:
Woolly Indian- wheat, sixweeks fescue, rough pennyroyal, and west-
ern stickseed; and during wet years, perennial grasises such as
needle-and-thread and sand dropseed, together with various weeds,
developed a taller cover. Elsewhere, bluestem ("western wheat-
grass") and western needlegrass added greatly to the luxuriant
appearance of the short-grass cover. In the transition zone between
the prairies and the plains, the sod cover was more open, and
included deep-rooted plants of the tall-grass type such as "wire-
grass" and bush morning-glory.
Grama, buffalo grass, and most of the other species of the short-
grass type were palatable and nutritious. Although the short grasses
matured early, their cured leaves remained as valuable forage and
were available the year round except when covered with snow. In-
jurious species were at a minimum. The high grazing capacity of
the range is indicated by the enormous herds of buffalo which
roamed these plains.
PACIFIC BUNCHGRASS
In western Montana, southwestern Idaho, eastern Washington and
Oregon, and in central California the pioneer found a luxuriant
grassland that resembled the prairies but with the additional char-
acteristic of many grasses growing in tufts or bunches. This bunch-
grass type was so luxuriant in its virgin condition that explorers
made frequent comments concerning it. Commander Wilkes (186) 5
wrote in 1841 of north central Oregon : "These hills, as well as the
country nearer at hand, were covered with a natural hay or bunch-
grass, which affords very nutritious food for cattle", and again near
Walla Walla in eastern Washington, "To the north and south are
extensive prairies, covered with the natural hay of the country, on
which the cattle feed." Fremont (55) wrote of eastern Oregon in
1 843 : "The mountains were covered with good bunchgrass" ; and later
Stuart (138) recorded:
We crossed the Rocky Mountain Divide on the 10th day of October, 1857,
where the station called Monida now is on the Oregon Short Line railroad. As
soon as we had crossed the divide a wonderful change appeared in the country.
Instead of the gray sagebrush covered plains of Snake River, we saw smooth
rounded hills and sloping benchland covered with yellow bunchgrass that waved
in the wind like a field of grain.
These testimonials as to the character, productivity, and palata-
bility of the vegetation abounding in this territory are further sub-
stantiated by scattered remnants of the original vegetation, not so
easily read as diaries but far more realistic. Cemeteries, fence
corners, and moderately grazed fields indicate an abundance of
palatable and nutritious bluebunch wheatgrass, Idaho fescue, giant
wild-rye, bluegrass, and needlegrass. Not so abundant, but highly
important as forage, were palatable weeds, such as balsamroot,
hawksbeard, mountain-dandelion, and sunflower.
Farther south, in California, was a similar native bunchgrass
prairie closely resembling the bunchgrass prairies of the Pacific
Northwest. The more important forage species were bluegrass, june-
6 Italic numbers In parenthesis refer to literature cited, p. 557.
THE VIRGIN RANGE 75
grass, oniongrass, needlegrass, wild-rye, and squirreltail grasses.
Clements (&4) describes a nearly continuous area of California
needlegrass several hundred miles long which once existed there.
Mixed with these more valuable grasses were clovers, lupines, sun-
flowers, poppies, and innumerable other herbs in infinite variety.
Although totaling only about 61 million acres and small in com-
parison with the tremendous area occupied by the short-grass plains,
the Pacific bunchgrass type was undoubtedly the finest grassland
west of the Rocky Mountains. It provided valuable forage for
immense numbers of wild animals and later was to become equally
valuable for pasturage of domestic livestock.
SEMIDESEKT GRASS
South of the short-grass plains and paralleling the Mexican border
in Texas, New Mexico, and southern Arizona occurred a discontinu-
ous belt of arid grassland which resembled the plains to some ex-
tent. But the vegetation of these semidesert grasslands was quite
different from that of the true short-grass type. In addition to the
grasses, many parts of the area supported a scraggly growth of
thorny shrubs and low trees. It covered approximately 93 million
acres, extending over broad, flat valleys, low hills, and mesa tops
and up onto the lower slopes of the mountains.
The most valuable forage plants in this type were three grasses:
Rothrock ("crowfoot") grama, black grama, and curly-mesquite. In
some localities Rothrock grama formed rather dense stands having
the appearance of fields of short cereal, and on the lower foothills
curly-mesquite occurred in sufficient density to form a sod that in
many ways resembled the buffalo-grama sod of the plains. These
nutritious grasses, however, though distributed widely throughout
the type, comprised only a relatively small portion of its total area.
More widely distributed was the black grama, which sparsely covered
the sandy and gravelly slopes between the river bottoms and the
foothills.
Scattered through this grass type were thorny shrubs and dwarfed
trees such as mesquite, mimosa, catclaw, and other acacias, hack-
berries, creosotebusn, jojoba, ceanothus, and low-growing live oaks.
Interspersed with these were pricklypear and other cacti, yucca or
Spanish-bayonet, and other plants characteristic of regions of little
rainfall. None of these latter species were of appreciable value for
forage.
The diaries of the early explorers and the accounts of later travelers
through the Southwest seldom or never mentioned any difficulty in
finding forage for their animals. The immense numbers of pack and
draft animals and cattle that year after year followed the Butterfield
and old Texas-California cattle trails through this type were able
to maintain themselves on the natural forage during months of
travel.
SAGEBRUSH-GRASS
One of the most distinctive range types which the early travelers
encountered was the sagebrush-grass. The pioneers of the Oregon
Trail seldom were out of the sagebrush type from the time they
entered it in eastern Wyoming until they reached the Cascade Range
in central Oregon; or if they turned southward in southern Idaho
76 THE WESTEKN RANGE
they found it all the way through Nevada to the foothills of the
Sierras.
The traveler, accustomed to the green prairies of the Midwest,
found the dull, gray expanse of the sagebrush forbidding and barren,
but in reality this type had many attractive features.
There are many lovely plants that blossom in early spring, filling the air
with fragrance, and. in summer and fall the yellow of sunflowers and of the
still more plentiful rabbitbrush, a relative of the goldenrod, frequently give
broad dashes of brilliant color. Beneath the sagebrush in a state of nature
nutritious bunchgrass grows abundantly (112).
A significant feature of the virgin sagebrush type was the abun-
dance of palatable grasses and weeds which grew under and between
the shrubs. Prominent among these were the wheatgrasses, blue-
bunch fescue, needlegrasses, wild-rye, Indian ricegrass, wild gera-
nium, balsamroot, and yarrow. Of lesser importance as forage but
of frequent occurrence were hawksbeard, phlox, sunflower, lupine,
and many other species. This cover of grass and weeds beneath the
sagebrush varied in density with soil and moisture conditions from
a thin stand such as in the Snake River plains of Idaho to a fairly
thick sod as in the mountains along the foothills in Montana.
Occasional very dense stands of sagebrush were found, but as a
rule the individual plants were several feet apart, forming open
diminutive forests from 2 to 7 feet in height. Mingled with the
silvery gray foliage of the sagebrush were other browse species such
as bud sagebrush ("bud-sage"), bitterbrush, and rabbitbrush.
Throughout its range the sagebrush type occurred in streaks and
patches along rivers and streams as well as on areas of poorer and
drier soils. It was found on extensive plains, on the rolling foot-
hills, and extended upward on dry mountain slopes to merge with
open forests of pinon-juniper and ponderosa pine.
In its primitive condition, the rich understory of grasses and weeds
beneath the "sage" provided abundant feed in spring and fall for
deer and other animals that migrated between plains and foothills
and the higher elevations. On the broad plains, nutritious forage
was available throughout the year. Because of its widespread oc-
currence over 90 million acres and its high forage value, the sage-
brush-grass type was unquestionably one of the most important of
all the original western ranges.
SOUTHERN DESERT SHRUB
Driest of all the range types was the southern desert shrub, of
which the greater portion was in southwestern Arizona, southern
Nevada, and southeastern California. Smaller areas occurred in
southern and western Texas and southern New Mexico near the
Mexican border. The Mohave Desert is included within this type
as are also the lower valleys of the Rio Grande and of the Colorado,
Gila, and Pecos Rivers. In its original condition only 25 of the
approximately 51 million acres in this type were of appreciable value
for grazing.
Owing to extremely high temperatures and very low rainfall, this
type has never produced sufficient vegetation to make it a very
dependable part of the range resource. Travelers, however, invari-
ably were impressed with the bizarre and varied appearance of the
plants on these sun-scorched desert lands. There was little uni-
THE VIRGIN RANGE 77
f ormity in the plant cover. Gray stretches of desert saltbush formed
dense thickets 3 or 4 feet tall in the valleys. Over extensive tracts,
widely spaced creosotebushes gave the appearance of scrubby
orchards. On the surrounding hills and ridges were varied forms
of cacti, centuryplants, agaves, and yuccas; this portion of the
desert must have been interesting, picturesque, and even weird with
its great columnar cacti, spiny paloverdes, the radiating stems of
ocotillo, and the beauty and variety of myriads of bright-colored
flowers which appeared for brief intervals after the infrequent rains.
Over most of the range, palatable forage was provided by mesquite
browse and weeds which sprang up after rains. With increase in
elevation toward the fringing mountains, however, the vegetation
became more abundant, and at the highest elevations within the
type were such true forage plants as Rothrock and black gramas,
alkali sacaton, lovegrasses, and three-awns, and in certain situations
saltgrass and galleta.
SALT-DESERT SHRUB
On the rolling alkaline soils of southwestern Wyoming, southern
Idaho, Utah, and Nevada was the salt-desert shrub type, covering
about 42 million acres, which resembled a low, scattered sagebrush
formation. The predominant vegetation was a mixture of palatable
low shrubs and scattered grasses. The most nutritious browse plants
were shadscale, bud sagebrush, winterfat, and rabbitbrush. The
most valuable grasses were wild-rye, squirreltail, Indian ricegrass,
galleta, and alkali sacaton, and although these seldom were thick
enough to develop a sod they formed fairly close stands in the less
alkaline situations.
The composition of the plant cover varied according to the salt
content of the soil, and consequently different areas were dominated
by different species. Where the salt content was extremely high,
pickleweeds and seepweeds occurred over great level expanses, but
these were unpalatable and never of value for grazing. Under more
favorable soil conditions the alkali sacaton formed a close sod over
extensive flats where clumps of yellow-flowered rabbitbrush, 2 or 3
feet high, frequently appeared. On moderately alkaline areas,
greasewood plants 2 to 5 feet in height were more or less evenly
spaced from 5 to 8 feet apart; their bright green foliage contrasted
strongly with the ashen hue of the low, hemispheric clumps of shad-
scale which frequently grew in mixture with the greasewood.
Even in its primitive condition the percentage of ground covered
by the salt-desert vegetation was slight. A recent survey in Nevada
of railroad rights-of-way which have been fenced for more than 30
years showed that grass covered only 1 percent and browse less than
3 percent of the total ground area. But even this apparently scant
cover of vegetation furnished feed for thousands of game animals
each winter.
PlNON-JuNIPER
The first forest type usually encountered by the pioneers after
crossing the Great Plains on their westward trek was the pifion-
juniper. These low-growing, open forests of pifion pines and juni-
pers occurred over Y4 million acres from the eastern foothills of the
Rocky Mountains in Colorado westward to central Oregon and
78 THE WESTERN RANGE
south through the foothill country of Utah, Nevada, eastern Cal-
ifornia, Arizona, and New Mexico. On the lower slopes of high
mountains the pinon- juniper type formed a transition zone between
the treeless sagebrush or similar shrub types and the denser forests
growing at higher elevations. In many places, particularly on the
elongated low ridges of Nevada, pifions and junipers were the only
forest trees present in any abundance. Here the type occurred as
large islands in a sea of sagebrush. The pinon- juniper type extended
without a break over thousands of acres throughout the Southwest,
and long fingers of this fringe forest type followed low, rocky ridges
and other broken ground out into the semidesert plains.
The pifions and junipers were short, dense-crowned trees 20 to 40
feet tall, the individual trees generally growing rather far apart.
Along the upper edge of the pinon- jumper belt, the pines often
dominated the forest mixture, whereas, at the lower edge of the belt,
the junipers ordinarily occurred in greater abundance than pine.
The pinon-juniper type was an important forage resource. The
wide spacing of the trees permitted the development of consider-
able browse such as mountain-mahogany, bitterbrush, and cliffrose,
as well as many palatable grasses and weeds, the more prevalent of
which were the gramas, needlegrass, wheatgrass, bluegrass, and
fescue.
WOODLAND-CHAPARRAL
Around the sides of the great central valley of California, on the
low hills along the Pacific Coast from San Francisco south to Mex-
ico, and in southern Arizona, the early-day traveler found vast brush
fields composed of not one but dozens of different species of shrubs.
These almost impenetrable thickets of bushes and stunted hardwood
trees later acquired the name "chaparral." Associated with these
chaparral thickets were large areas of comparatively open wood-
land, parklike stretches characterized by various species of oaks, and
an understory of palatable grasses and herbs. Just as the pinon-
juniper type elsewhere in the Southwest formed a transition zone
between the grass or desert-shrub vegetation of the plains and the
forests of the higher mountain slopes, so the woodland-chaparral
formed a transition zone between the grass types and the higher
mountain forests in southern California and Arizona. In California
alone, the woodland-chaparral type covered about 10 million acres.
Although more than a hundred different species of shrubs and
dwarfed trees intermingled to form this peculiar plant cover, its
species composition varied considerably in different parts of the
type. The most important species were highland live oak, poison-
oak, scrub oak, hpllyleaf cherry, sumac, ceanothus, and manzanita.
At varying elevations the shrub species gradually merged with open
oak woodlands.
The woodland portions of the type supported a good growth of
valuable forage grasses and weeds. There was no available grass or
herbaceous forage beneath the dense canopy of the brush portions of
this type, and the brush itself was of low palatability. The chapar-
ral, however, had enormous value for watershed protection, since its
dense cover prevented soil washing and thus played a prominent
part in preserving lower, more valuable grasslands.
THE VIRGIN RANGE 79
OPEN FORESTS
Valuable forage occurred in the 131 million acres of open forests
that grew on the slopes of practically every mountain range from
the eastern foothills of the Rockies to the slopes of the Cascades and
the Sierras. In these forests the trees were fairly wide-spaced, and
a grassy floor beneath the trees added to a parklike appearance.
Numerous clear mountain streams and the easy accessibility of the
grass cover contributed to making these areas an extremely valuable
part of the forage resource.
The most extensive areas of grazing land in the open-forest type
were found under the ponderosa pine forests which occurred in large
bodies throughout the West. In many localities the prevailing open-
forest type was a pure stand of ponderosa pine; elsewhere it was a
mixed stand of ponderosa pine, sugar pine, and incense cedar or a
mixture of ponderosa pine and Douglas fir. At high elevations in
the Rocky Mountains there were parks and meadows in openings
between stands of Engelmann spruce and alpine fir. Here and there
were areas of low-growing oaks, maples, and other mountain brush.
In Colorado and adjacent Southwestern States the type included
tracts of aspen and Douglas fir. Throughout the type were moun-
tain meadows of luxuriant grass and palatable weeds.
Almost everywhere in the open forests was abundant forage com-
posed of many different species of shrubs, grasses, and weeds. As
might be expected, the forage species varied considerably throughout
this very large region, depending on climate, soil, and to some extent
on the kind of overtopping forest cover. For the type as a whole,
however, the many valuable forage plants included blue grama,
bluestem, various fescues, "beardless bunchgrass", wheatgrass, pine-
grass, junegrass, bluegrasses, redtop, alpine timothy, needlegrasses,
ricegrasses, and elk sedge; wild geranium, bluebells, yarrow, suc-
culent vetches, and other nourishing weeds and palatable browse such
as snowberry, bitterbrush, and mountain-mahogany.
These open forests and mountain meadows had a high value for
forage. As a rule, this type occurred at rather high elevations, and
its forage matured later than that of the lower ranges. For this
reason the open-forest ranges later were to become an extremely
important link in the grazing cycle for domestic livestock providing
the all-important summer pastures and, in combination with the
lower ranges, making possible yearlong grazing.
DENSE FORESTS
Not all of the forests of the West were suitable for grazing.
Certain forest types were so dense that little herbaceous or shrubby
vegetation was able to live in the deep shade, or if herbage did de-
velop it was of low forage value. Included in the dense forest types
were the western white pine-western larch forests of northern
Idaho, thickets of lodgepole pine throughout the Rocky Mountains,
redwood stands along the northern California coast, the fog-drenched
Sitka spruce-western hemlock and Douglas fir forests of western
Oregon and Washington, and parts of the Engelmann spruce-alpine
fir forests of the high Cascade Range and the Rocky Mountains.
Here and there in these dense forests were open, grassy meadows.
80 THE WESTERN RANGE
In the aggregate, these dense forests covered a very large area and
comprised about 68 million acres. Occasional fires, started by light-
ning or by Indians, removed the forest cover temporarily, and for a
few years deer and other wild animals found considerable feed in the
burned areas, on which generally developed a good cover of such
palatable plants as peavine and fireweed, until new forest growth
shaded out these succulent plants.
WHAT THE RANGE RESOURCE OFFERED A GROWING NATION
In the days of the "Forty-niners" there were few settlements in
all that vast territory lying between the Mississippi River and the
Pacific Coast. True, the Spaniards had a few herds of cattle and
sheep in the Southwest as early as 1598, and the Mormons in 1847
established a small colony on the shores of a great salt lake near the
western foothills of the Rocky Mountains ; there were a few military
posts scattered here and there, and at various strategic points were
isolated trading establishments of the great fur companies; and, of
course, a few small, struggling communities had taken root in the
fertile valleys adjacent to the Pacific Ocean.
Except for these rudimentary beginnings of settlement, the whole
of the far-flung expanse of prairie, plain, desert, and mountain high-
land was virgin territory. It was virgin country in 1540 when the
Spanish captain, Coronado, led the Conquistadores up from Mexico
through what is now Texas and on northward over the lush grass of
the never-ending plains. It was the free and unchallenged home of
the buffalo and antelope in 1805 when Lewis and Clark made their
intrepid march to the mouth of the Columbia. And it was still
virgin territory in 1835 when Colonel Dodge and his party of Gov-
ernment explorers spent the entire summer following the Platte
Eiver toward its source, traveling across the Great Plains, along the
frontal wall of the Rockies, and returning eastward by way of the
Arkansas River. As late as 1858, buffalo roamed over the land where
Denver now stands. Those who set forth three-quarters of a century
ago to cross this vast, uncharted, little-known wilderness saw the
land as Coronado saw it three centuries before. They saw a virgin
range, an enormous, untapped natural resource.
This virgin range exhibited a wide variation in plant cover, but
everywhere except in the desert areas, there was an abundance of
palatable and nutritious plants suitable for the pasturage of wild
game and, later, for domestic livestock. Before white settlement the
range was used only by wild game. Although these animals were
present in very large numbers, occasionally overgrazing local areas
and variations in forage production were caused by droughts, some
of which undoubtedly were as severe as those experienced in recent
years, the range by and large was able to maintain itself. It would
have continued to do so if the white man had not upset its natural
and fairly stable equilibrium.
The magnificent opportunities for prudent utilization of this great
natural resource could not have been fully appreciated by those who
settled the range ; for the story of the range is in part one of high
hope and lofty ideals, and in part one of indifference to the welfare
of the generations to follow. It is a story of the prodigal exploita-
tion of a vast natural resource on an enormous scale.
III. THE WHITE MAN'S TOLL
By RICHABD E. MoARDLE, Director, and DAVID F. COSTELLO, Assistant Conserva-
tionist, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station ; E. E. BIBK-
MAIER, Range Examiner, and CARL EWING, Forest Supervisor, North Pacific
Region; B. A. HENDRICKS, Associate Range Examiner, Southwestern Forest
and Range Experiment Station, C. A. KTJTZLEB, Staff Technician, Rocky Moun-
tain Region; ALVA A. SIMPSON, Associate Director, Plains Shelterbelt, and
ARNOLD R. STANDING, Range Examiner, Intermountain Region
If the "Forty-niner" could but repeat his westward journey today,
how different the range would appear! Where less than a century
ago he spent weary weeks guiding his ox team over rolling prairies,
wind-swept plains, and rugged mountains; where were but wagon
National Forests
Indian Lands
Public Domain &
Grazing Dist's
Other Federal__
State and County
Private
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3 10 20 30 40 50
AREA (PERCENT)
FIGUBD 23. OWNERSHIP DISTRIBUTION OP THE PRESENT RANGE AREA.
Of the immense area of "free range", more than half has passed into private ownership.
National forests, Indian lands, and public domain divide up about 36 percent in the
ratio, roughly, of 2^-1-3.
tracks and isolated Indian villages in the days of the gold rush, he
now would find a network of roads, farmsteads, cities, and towns.
Enormous areas throughout this western country would still have
somewhat the appearance of the "endless grasslands" that he knew;
but beneath the appearance is a change that might elude the "Forty-
niner" the great depletion in quality and quantity of the forage
resources that has taken place in the last 50 or 60 years.
Widespread, continuous, and exhaustive use of the forage has
changed the whole character of the virgin range. The outstanding
changes have been (1) the passage of much of the land from Federal
ownership to other forms of control, (2) a reduction in the area
available for range use, (3) a tremendous decrease in the quantity
and quality of the forage, and (4) deterioration of the basic resource,
the soil itself.
6494636 7
81
82
THE WESTERN RANGE
The ownership pattern of the virgin range has changed from virtu-
ally complete Federal ownership to a bewildering mosaic of inter-
mingled State, county, municipal, private, Federal, and other owner-
ships. Even the land in Federal ownership or control is under vari-
ous jurisdictions, such as the national parks and monuments, national
forests, Indian lands, grazing districts, and unreserved public domain.
Table 5 indicates for the present range area of 728,000,000 acres the
approximate acreage in each of the several classes of ownership.
The proportional area in each ownership is illustrated in figure 23.
TABLE 5. Distribution of virgin and present range areas by ownership or control
and plant types
Type
Approximate
area of virgin
range 1
Present area, all
ownerships
Federal ownership or control
National forests Indian lands Public domain
Tall grass
Short grass
Pacific bunchgrass.
Semidesert grass. ._
Sagebrush-grass
Southern desert
shrub.
Salt-desert shrub..
Pinon-juniper
Woodland-chapar-
ral
Open forests
1,000 acres
42,000
280,000
61,000
93,000
90,000
25, 000
42,000
74,000
10,000
130, 550
All types
847, 550
Per-
cent
5.0
33.0
7.2
11.0
10.6
2.9
5.0
8.7
1.2
15.4
1,000 acres
18, 513
98, 092
42, 534
89, 274
96, 528
40, 858
75, 728
13, 406
126, 367
100.0
728, 196
Per-
cent
2.5
27.2
5.8
12.3
13.3
3.7
5.6
10.4
1.8
17.4
1,000 acres
202
993
1,714
1,636
3,637
13,811
712
64,785
100.0
87, 954
Per-
cent
1.1
.5
4.0
1.8
3.8
.4
.9
18.2
5.3
51.3
1,000 acres
106
11, 627
461
12, 353
2,158
2,409
1,657
10, 352
78
7,190
12.1
48, 391
Per-
cent
0.6
5.9
1.1
13.8
2.2
8.9
4.1
13.7
.6
5.7
1,000 acres
10
9,- 759
1,689
7,686
43, 237
6,424
30, 657
22, 302
1,693
4,335
127, 792
Per-
cent
0.1
4.9
4.0
8.6
44.8
23.9
75.0
29.5
12.6
3.4
17.5
Type
Federal ownership or control
Other Federal
All Federal
State and county
Private
Tall grass
Short grass
Pacific bunchgrass..
Sagebrush-grass
Southern desert
shrub
Salt-desert shrub .
Pinon-juniper
Woodland - chapar-
ral
Open forests
1,000 acres
137
3,166
863
2,734
6,147
1,530
2,000
4,561
120
1,739
All types
22, 997
Percent
0.7
1.6
2.0
3.1
6.4
5.7
4.9
6.0
.9
1.4
1,000 acres
455
25, 545
4,727
24,409
55, 179
10, 461
34, 680
51,026
2,603
78,049
3.2
287, 134
Percent
2.5
12.9
11.1
27.3
57.2
84.9
67.4
19.4
61.8
1,000 acres
787
24,403
1,894
16,440
6,558
5,792
927
163
4,750
39.4
65, 516
Percent
4.2
12.3
4.5
18.4
6.8
21.5
2.3
5.0
1.2
3.7
1,000 acres
17, 271
148, 144
35,913
48, 425
34, 791
10,643
5,251
20,900
10,640
43, 568
9.0
375, 546
Percent
93.3
74.8
84.4
64.3
36.0
39.6
12.8
27.6
79.4
34.5
51.6
* Exclusive of area east of boundary line shown in fig. 1. In addition to area shown here, the tall
grass type is estimated to have covered 210,000,000 acres east of the boundary line shown in fig. 1.
Including grazing districts.
Exclusive of 1,217,000 acres of grazable land in national parks and monuments, only 40,000 acres of which
are actually grazed.
Changes in area have occurred in nearly every major plant type.
Some have become larger. The sagebrush-grass range, for instance,
has expanded at the expense of adjacent types from about 90 million
to more than 96 million acres, and in California the woodland-
chaparral vegetation covers 3.4 million acres more than at the time
of white settlement. Some of the range types are considerably
smaller, as, for example, the tall-grass prairie, much of which is now
devoted to agricultural crops. The Pacific bunchgrass range also
THE WHITE MAN'S TOLL
83
has become considerably smaller, because a large part has been used
for wheat production, orchards, and other agricultural crops, and
because of the inroads made by encroaching sagebrush. The pro-
portional distribution of the present range area in the different
plant types is shown in figure 24.
In every part of the western range, lands have been taken for
cities, roads, and for other needs of settlement. All told, as detailed
in table 5, the total area of open range land is about 119 million
acres less today than a century ago. 6
Tall Grass
Short Grass
Pacific Bunchgrass
Semidesert Grass.
Sagebrush-Grass.
Southern Desert
Shrub
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Salt- Desert Shrub.
Pinon-Juniper
Woodland-
Chaparral
Open Forest _ _
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) 10 20 30
AREA (PERCENT)
FIGURB 24. TYPES OF RANGE FORAGE.
One-fourth and more of the present range area is in the very valuable short-grass type.
The first four principal grass types (shown in fig. 25) account for nearly a half of
the total area.
By far the most significant departure from virgin range condi-
tions is the change in the plant cover. Although varying in density
under different forms of management, the plant cover in every range
type is depleted to an alarming degree. Many valuable forage
species have disappeared entirely. Palatable plants are being
replaced by unpalatable ones. Worthless and obnoxious weeds from
foreign countries are invading every type. And throughout the
entire western range the vegetation has been thinned out until even
About 2 million acres of former range have been used for cities, highways, and other
needs of settlement ; about 116 million acres for farm crops ; and 1 million acres of
grazable lands are included in national parks and monuments. Also not included are
about 68 million acres of dense forests and 59 million acres of deserts and inaccessible
areas which never have been usable as range.
84 THE WESTERN RANGE
conservative estimates place the forage value at less than half of
what it was a century ago. This loss in forage values from virgin
range conditions is referred to as "range depletion."
Accompanying the loss in plant cover has come about an inevita-
ble soil deterioration. Depletion of the plant cover meant the loss
of a shielding cover of herbage to break the force of rains and ease
the water gently into the soil ; of a litter cover of dead and decaying
leaves to filter the running water and thus prevent clogging the soil
pores with silt ; of a generous admixture of humus to aid in catching
and absorbing the waters rushing over steep hillsides; of a mass
of fibrous plant roots to keep the soil loose and friable and capable
of holding a large quantity of water ; as all these were lost, the hold-
ing power of the good soil was gone and it became an easy prey to
soil erosion. It was and is a self-continuing destruction, for, as
more and more of the fertile topsoil is washed away, it becomes
increasingly difficult for plants to reestablish a protective cover, and
floods from severely denuded parts of a range frequently ruin nearby
areas which lie in the path of mudflows.
FORAGE DEPLETION IN THE PRINCIPAL RANGE TYPES
A brief description of present conditions of vegetation in the prin-
cipal range types will emphasize not only how different the present
range is from the virgin range but how greatly every range type has
suffered, and is continuing to suffer, from forage depletion. No
attempt has been made to develop a complete picture for each type
but only to select from the large amount of information available in
Forest Service and other records a sufficient number of examples to
depict general conditions as they exist today. 7 These short accounts
deal entirely with vegetative conditions of the range. The causes of
forage depletion and the remedies are discussed in later chapters.
Throughout these accounts it will be noted that forage depletion
may (and generally does) mean that the plant cover is thinner; de-
pletion also is indicated by the replacement of palatable and nutri-
tious plants by unpalatable or less nutritious plants. Even in its
virgin condition there were minor changes in the character of the
plant cover, which was thicker one season than another; having now
more plants of a certain species, now fewer. But in general there
was a biological balance, a natural equilibrium, which year in and
7 These are for the most part taken from unpublished data of the Forest Service.
For many years the Forest Service has collected data on range conditions but to obtain
more information on the present range, especially for areas outside the national forests,
an extensive survey of the entire western range was started in 1932 and completed in
the fall of 1935. The tables presented here are based upon the observations of more
than 100 Forest Service officials, skilled in judging range conditions and familiar with
the country examined. As a basis for judging range conditions these men had the
results obtained through periodic reexaminations over many years of 6,300 permanently
marked sample plots. In addition, forage conditions on more than 14,000 sample plots
were estimated during the 4 years the survey was in progress.
Knowledge of original forage conditions was obtained by examination of remnants
of the virgin range and of "protected" areas such as ungrazed fence corners, cemeteries,
and railroad rights-of-way where the present vegetation is at least indicative of virgin
range conditions. The forage values of present ranges were estimated in terms of those
of the virgin range, and present range lands were grouped into four broad classes : 0-25,
26^50. 51-75, and 76-100 percent decline from original forage values. A map (fig. 38,
p. 110) was prepared, outlining in a general way these four broad classes of forage
depletion. Comparison of this map with those showing distribution of range types
(figs. 25, 30, and 34) and with estimates of land ownership was the basis for preparation
of the forage depletion tables presented in this chapter.
The plant types described are generalized, each inevitably including small areas of
other types. The principal subtypes are detailed in the appendix, p. 600. A similar
generalization is unavoidable in delimiting the depletion classes.
THE WHITE MAN'S TOLL
85
year out maintained the distinctive character of the plant type, only
occasionally upset by certain natural phenomena such as drought, fire,
and localized overgrazing by big game animals.
When the white man came, his disturbance of this balance was of a
more far-reaching nature. He allowed too many of his grazing ani-
TALL GRASS
SHORT GRASS
PACIFIC BUNCHGRASS
SEMI DESERT GRASS
FIGURE 25. The principal grass types within the boundary of the present range, among
which the short-grass type takes first place in area and grazing valute 1 ..
mals to use the range, with the result that thinning of the plant cover
and packing of the soil induced soil erosion and made natural re-
generation more difficult for the remaining plants. Early grazing
prevented the development of adequate seed crops. These and other
factors entirely changed the site conditions and brought about large
changes in the character of the vegetation. As a rule, it was the
86 THE WESTERN RANGE
poorer plants which were able to survive on the deteriorated sites, and
eventually they gained possession of the areas. In some instances,
these were the plants best able to endure the deteriorated site condi-
tions ; in others, the plants that domestic livestock would not eat obvi-
ously were left to reseed the area while plants relished by livestock
were consumed before seed could be produced. Thus the deteriora-
tion of the site has brought about a more or less complete change in
the character of the plant cover. This in turn has wrought a change
in the grazing capacity, which, as here expressed in animal units, is
the number of acres required to support one unit of domestic live-
stock (i. e., one cow, horse, or mule; or five sheep, goats, or swine)
for 1 month without endangering the continued forage productivity
of the range land.
TALL GRASS
No other range type has so decreased in size as has the tall grass
(fig. 25). The tall-grass prairies originally extended as far east as
Indiana and covered about 252 million acres. Today farm lands
largely replace the tall grass of the Middle West and much of the
42 million acres considered in this report. 8 Only 18.5 million acres
remain in range use, for here, too, the soil was fertile and the climate
favorable to crop production. As can be seen in figure 25, the bulk
of the tall-grass range is now in four widely separated places North
Dakota, Nebraska, southern Kansas and Oklahoma, and the Texas
coastal plain ; and approximately 93 percent of it is privately owned
(table 5). It has less forage depletion than any other part of the
western range, and despite its greatly reduced acreage the tall-grass
type is an important part of the forage resource because of the large
numbers of livestock it can support on relatively small areas.
About three-fourths of the present tall-grass range is in good
condition; the rest has experienced appreciable changes in the make-
up of its plant cover (table 6). Relatively unchanged are the
sand hills and native hay meadows of northwestern Nebraska. Here
in a compact body of range land covering about 12 million acres,
the plant cover has essentially the same species as when plant collec-
tions were made in 1839-58 (131). In North Dakota, Kansas, and
Oklahoma, sagebrush, yucca, shinnery oaks, and other more or less
unpalatable weeds and shrubs have usurped the place of the nutri-
tious tall grasses. For example, examinations of the sand hills south
of Garden City, Kans., in 1902 and 1904 showed that prairie beard-
grass and prairie sandgrass were present in large quantities but
sagebrush and yucca were scarce. In 1935 sand sagebrush and
yucca were the dominant species, whereas it was now prairie beard-
grass and blue grama that were scarce a complete reversal of types
in 30 years.
8 As already stated in the previous chapter, the 210 million acres of tall grass east of
the boundary line in fig. 25 are not considered as within the present range area.
THE WHITE MAN'S TOLL,
87
TABLE 6. Depletion of virgin range in the tall-grass type, ~by ownership and
depletion classes
Ownership or control
Moderate
depletion
(0-25 percent)
Material
depletion
(26-50 percent)
Severe
depletion
(51-75 percent)
Extreme
depletion
(76-100 per-
cent)
All depletion
classes
Federal:
National forests
1,000
acres
202
76
10
137
Per-
cent
100
72
100
100
93
100
72
73
1,000
acres
30
Per-
cent
28
7
24
23
1,000
acres
Per-
cent
1,000
acres
Per-
cent
4
4
1,000
acres
202
106
10
137
Per
cent
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
Indian lands
Public domain grazing
districts
Other Federal l
All Federal 1
425
787
12, 377
30
4,145
749
455
787
17,271
State and county
Private
All ownerships
13, 589
4,175
749
18, 513
1 Exclusive of 1,217,000 acres of grazable land in national parks and monuments, only 40,000 of which is
actually grazed.
Included in the 73 percent of the type in reasonably good condi-
tion are the sand hills of Nebraska and the small area in the Texas
Coastal Plain shown in figure 25. That so much of the type as a
whole is in this condition today is undoubtedly the result of abundant
rainfall coupled with the deep-rooting habit of the tall grasses and
their remarkable recuperative powers. Abuse which in other range
types would have quickly brought destruction has harmed the tall
grass only slightly. Material forage depletion occurs in North Da-
kota and on part of the type in Kansas, but most of the tall-grass
range in Kansas and Oklahoma, about 4 percent of the total area in
tall-grass range, has lost nearly all of its former forage value.
Virgin
Range
Present
Range
0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5
Acres Required per Cow (5 Sheep) per Month
FIGURE 26. Estimated grazing capacity on present tall-grass range requires nearly one-
fifth greater area per cow (or 5 sheep) than on the virgin range.
Grazing capacity, estimated for both the virgin and the present
range, as described on page 509, is shown in figure 26. In this re-
spect, as in others, the tall-grass type has the advantage of most of
the types which follow.
Although most of the tall-grass type is in reasonably good condi-
tion today, the present trend in forage values is thought to be down-
ward on about 90 percent of the entire tall-grass range (table 25,
p. 116). Unquestionably, the drought of the past few years has had
a part in this decline, but drought alone has caused only about one-
third^of the total loss in forage grasses in this type. Overgrazing,
especially during the recent drought period, is the factor chiefly
&5 THE WESTEEN RANGE
responsible. Since practically all of the tall-grass type is in private
ownership, the responsibility for checking this downward trend of
forage values and rebuilding the plant cover rests with the farmers
and livestock operators using this range. On portions of the
Nebraska National Forest the grazing capacity under controlled use
has been increased 55 percent in the last 23 years, indicating the
progress possible under systematic range management.
SHORT GRASS
The short grass is the largest of the range types, covering 198
million acres (fig. 25). Of this, three-fourths is privately owned
(table 5) ; although millions of acres plowed for agricultural crops
are now reverting to public ownership for nonpayment of taxes.
With many interspersed areas under various forms of Federal and
State control, the short-grass type has become an enormous patch-
work of farms, pasture lands, and open range upon which an increas-
ingly complex pattern of ownership is being superimposed.
The short grasses are hardy, and this type is much less susceptible
to damage through overuse than are other grass types. The forage
value of the present short-grass range, however, is considerably less
than that of the virgin range because of changes in the plant cover.
The replacement of palatable species by inferior plants has con-
tributed to this decline, but the major factor in range depletion has
been the marked thinning of the plant cover.
V rg i n
Range
Present
Range
1.5 .
Acres Required per Cow (5 Sheep) perMonih
4-.5
FIGURE 27. Grazing capacity of the short-grass type at present requires nearly twice
the range area estimated for virgin-range conditions.
A large proportion of the short grasses in the original plant cover
of these plains has been replaced by weeds and shrubs of low palata-
bility, such as sand sagebrush, Russian-thistle, sunflower, asters,
pigweed, goldenrod, and peppergrass. In western Kansas, eastern
Colorado, and southward, the worthless snakeweed, gumweed, and
cactus now dominate many areas. Where mixed prairies once ex-
isted along the Arkansas River, the grasses have almost completely
disappeared and sand sagebrush, R-ussian-thistle, and yucca now con-
stitute 60 percent of the total plant cover. On the high plains of
western Texas, weeds like Russian-thistle and broomweed comprise
from 20 to 40 percent of a plant cover in which grasses once were
85 percent dominant. In eastern Colorado, grasses once comprised
86 percent of the plant cover but now constitute only 56 percent of
the vegetation, whereas weeds have increased from 14 to 34 percent.
THE WHITE MAN'S TOLL
89
Accompanying this decrease in forage quality is the even more
serious decrease in volume of forage through thinning of the entire
plant cover. The vegetation in general is only half as thick as it
was when the white man first began to use the range for pasturage.
The recent drought is responsible for a certain amount of the thin-
ning. It is worth noting, however, that small remnants of the short-
grass range protected from grazing have nearly 10 times as thick a
plant cover as adjacent areas exposed to the same drought conditions
but long overgrazed by livestock.
As a result of this loss in quality and decrease in volume of vege-
tation, the forage value of the short-grass range is much less than
that of the virgin range, and that this condition is widespread is
indicated by the following figures from an extensive survey made in
1935:
Decline from original forage value: Percent
Southwestern North Dakota -------------------------------------- 25-50
Northwestern and western South Dakota _________________________ 37-43
Northeastern Colorado, western Nebraska and southeastern
Wyoming ______________________________________________________ 50-60
Southwest Nebraska and northwestern Kansas ____________________ 50-75
Western Texas ___________________________________________________ 50-70
Forage in southeastern Colorado, the "dust-bowl" area, has lost
88 percent of its former value. The forage of about 13 percent of
the entire short-grass area has been extremely depleted, more than
three-fourths materially or severely depleted, and only about 8 per-
cent can be classed as being in reasonably good condition (table 7).
It is significant, as shown in table 7, that of the severely and ex-
tremely depleted short-grass range more than 80 percent is privately
owned. One of the best indications of what has happened is the con-
trast afforded by figure 27 between grazing capacity of the short-
grass type now and a century ago.
TABLE 7. Depletion of virgin range in the short-grass type
depletion classes
ownership and
Ownership or control
Moderate
depletion
(0-25 percent)
Material
depletion
(26-50 percent)
Severe
depletion
(51-75 percent)
Extreme
depletion
(76-100 per-
cent)
All depletion
classes
Federal:
National forests
1,000
acres
401
1,348
547
176
Per-
cent
40
12
6
5
1,000
acres
471
8,603
5,151
590
Per-
cent
48
74
53
19
1,000
acres
121
1,624
3,855
2,400
Per-
cent
12
14
39
76
1,000
acres
52
206
Per-
cent
0)
2
1,000
acres
993
11, 627
9,759
3,166
Per-
cent
100
100
100
100
Indian lands
Public domain grazing
districts
Other Federal
All Federal
2,472
1,809
11, 766
10
7
8
14, 815
16, 514
70, 361
58
68
47
8,000
5,074
41, 350
31
21
28
258
1,006
24, 667
1
4
17
25, 545
24, 403
148, 144
100
100
100
State and county
Private
All ownerships
16, 047
8
101, 690
51
54, 424
28
25, 931
13
198, 092
100
Less than 0.5 percent.
The best available information indicates that for the past quarter
century about 95 percent of the whole short-'grass range has steadily
declined in forage value (table 24, p. 115). Nor is it likely that the
present poor condition of this range marks the end of its down-
90 THE WESTERN RANGE
ward trend, unless more care is given the range than in the past;
for depletion has been halted on only 4 percent of the type during
the past 5 years and approximately 94 percent of the short-grass
area is thought to be still on the downgrade (table 25, p. 116) . The
short-grass type, however, has remarkable recuperative powers.
With favorable weather conditions and adequate care, it recovers
quickly.
PACIFIC BUNCHGRASS
The Pacific bunchgrass is the most valuable grass type west of
the Great Plains (fig. 25). Since settlement, however, it has lost
much of its original importance because the total area of the type
is smaller, and also because of a tremendous decline in the forage
value of the remaining bunchgrass range.
Bunchgrass originally covered about 61,000,000 acres, but very
large areas in eastern Washington and north-central Oregon have
been turned to wheat production and in California much of the
land which originally supported bunchgrass is now devoted to
orchards and other agricultural crops. The invasion of sagebrush
has still further decreased the area of the bunchgrass type, which is
now estimated to be only 42.5 million acres. About 84 percent of
the bunchgrass range is privately owned and most of the rest is in
Federal ownership, chiefly as unreserved public domain and national
forests.
Many of the valuable plants of this type have almost entirety
disappeared, notably the immensely valuable bluebunch wheatgrass
on large areas in eastern Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Cali-
fornia. Other native bunchgrasses have been largely replaced by
bur-clover, "filaree", slender oat, and other plants of foreign origin.
Occasionally these introduced plants have considerable forage value
but they seldom compensate for the disappearance of the native
vegetation. Many of the plant immigrants are worthless as feed
for livestock, some are poisonous, and others are mechanically in-
jurious, especially to lambs. Downy chess, locally called "cheat-
grass", an inferior forage plant that came to this country from
abroad, is of but moderate forage value for only a few weeks dur-
ing the year but is now dominating large areas formerly occupied
by bunchgrass. Even casual observers note the astonishingly wide
distribution of Russian-thistle on the bunchgrass range.
The marked decline in forage value of the bunchgrass range can
be traced in part to a general thinning of the plant cover, but
chiefly to a distinct change in the character of the vegetation. Sam-
ple plots located on representative areas in Idaho, Oregon, and
Washington, indicate that the outstanding feature of the change
in character of the plant cover is the shift from perennial grasses
to annual grasses. As shown in table 8, perennial grasses consti-
tuted approximately three-fourths of the original plant cover but
form only a small portion of the present cover. Annual grasses,
which were only 12 percent originally, now comprise 51 percent of
the vegetation. The significance of this replacement of valuable
perennial grasses by annual grasses of low palatability is at least
partly reflected in the great reduction in grazing capacity of this
type as shown in figure 28.
THE WHITE MAN'S TOLL,
91
TABLE 8. Approximate composition of the plant cover on the lunch grass range
in Idaho, Washington, and Oregon
Composition
Range
Virgin
Present
Percent
4
51
35
10
Perennial grasses
Percent
76
12
10
2
Annual grasses
Weeds
Shrubs -.
Total
100
100
The fact that the plant cover of much of the present range is
only about 60 percent as thick as that of the virgin range further
explains this very considerable reduction in forage value of the
bunchgrass range of today. Some parts of the present bunchgrass
range are estimated to be only 30 percent as valuable for feed as
under virgin conditions. For the type as a whole, as indicated by
table 9, less than a tenth is only moderately depleted, whereas 55
percent is severely depleted, or worse.
Virgin
Range
Present
Range
01 2345
Acres Required per Cow (5 Sheep) per Month
FIGURE 28. More than twice the area per cow is required today on Pacific bunchgrass
ranges that sufficed under normal conditions.
Even more alarming than the indication that nearly all the forage
is gone on more than half of the bunchgrass range is the generally
recognized fact that forage depletion is still continuing in this type.
Recent estimates suggest that on less than one-fifth of the bunch-
grass range has forage depletion been halted or the range improved
(tables 24 and 25, pp. 115 and 116) ; and still further deterioration
may be expected on the remainder.
TABLE 9. Depletion of virgin range in the Pacific-l)unchgrass type ly ownership
and depletion classes
Ownership or control
Moderate
depletion
(0-25 percent)
Material
depletion
(26-50 percent)
Severe
depletion
(51-75 percent)
Extreme
depletion
(76-100 per-
cent)
All depletion
classes
Federal:
National forests
1,000
acres
502
Per-
cent
29
1,000
acres
779
39
220
308
Per-
cent
46
9
13
36
1,000
acres
433
236
878
360
Per-
cent
25
51
52
42
1,000
acres
186
591
195
Per-
cent
40
35
22
1,000
acres
1,714
461
1,689
863
Per-
cent
100
100
100
100
Indian lands
Public domain grazing
districts
Other Federal
AllWederal
502
50
2,932
11
3
8
1,346
725
13, 521
28
38
38
1,907
962
17, 852
40
61
50
972
157
1,608
21
8
4
4,727
1,894
35,913
100
100
100
Rtat.A"and>.nunty
Private "
All ownerships _
3,484
8
15, 592
37
20,721
49
2,737
6
42,534
100
92 THE WESTERN RANGE
SEMIDESERT GRASS
The chief range of the Southwest is that characterized by the nu-
tritious grasses of the semidesert-grass type (fig. 25), which retain
their palatability during the mild winters of this region. In Ari-
zona this type is much used for winter sheep grazing; for yearling
cattle grazing in Arizona and New Mexico; and for cattle, sheep,
and goats in the Trans-Pecos region of Texas. More than half of
its 89 million acres is in private ownership.
Most of the semidesert-grass type shows a marked loss in forage
value from that of the virgin range. Three important plants
alkali sacaton, sacaton, and bush muhly ("hoe grass") have al-
most entirely disappeared from the type. Gully and arroyo ero-
sion has carved the soil from valleys that once supported magnificent
stands of the sacaton grasses (63). Hoe grass, which now is seldom
found except on areas inaccessible to livestock or as an occasional
tuft under the protection of cacti and thorny shrubs, was so abun-
dant in 1879 and 1880 that hundreds of tons were delivered as hay
to Government military posts in Arizona (12).
As the gramas and other valuable forage grasses disappear, the
range is being restocked with inferior grasses and weeds. A spe-
cific illustration of this shift in composition of the plant cover, based
on studies on the Rio Grande watershed in New Mexico, is given in
table 10. 9 It will be noted that on conservatively grazed areas,
which to some extent indicate virgin range conditions, the palatable
forage grasses comprise nearly the whole plant cover, whereas on the
heavily grazed lands characteristic of much of the present range only
half of the cover consists of these valuable forage grasses. Dominat-
ing many areas formerly occupied by valuable forage grasses are
such poor grasses and worthless weeds as burrograss, ring muhly,
fluffgrass, three-awn ("poverty grass"), snakeweed, Russian-thistle,
and jimmyweed ("burroweed"). Cholla cactus has invaded many
square miles in central Arizona and on former grasslands creosote-
bush is encroaching. Drymaria, a deadly poisonous species, has
increased on overgrazed clay flats in New Mexico, and in southwest
Texas, bitter rubberweed, which also is poisonous, has appeared in
many places (30, 84) . In New Mexico, as the valuable black grama
disappears the range gradually becomes more and more an essen-
tially worthless mesquite-sand-dune shrub type (29).
TABLE 10. Approximate composition of herbaceous cover on a semidesert-grass
range in New Mexico
Composition
Conserva-
tively
grazed
lands
Heavily
grazed
lands
Good grasses (black gram
Poor grasses (ring muhly,
Weeds and shrubs
n, hliifl grama, sido-oats grama)
Percent
85
6
9
Percent
50
10
40
dropseed, three-awn). ." '.
Total
100
100
9 Cooperrider, C. K., and Hendricks, B. A. Soil Erosion and Streamflow in Relation
to Land Resources and Human Welware on the Upper Rio Grande Watershed. U. S.
Dept. Agr. Tech. Bull. (In process of publication.)
THE WHITE MAN'S TOLL
93
A valuable forage plant which has come into the semidesert type
is alfileria, or "filaree." This plant appeared in the 1870's (143)
and is excellent feed in wet years, but since in this type it occurs
in abundance only in southern Arizona and produces a good crop
of feed only in occasional years, it does not fully compensate for
the loss of perennial grasses which it is replacing.
In addition to the loss of valuable forage plants, the plant cover
of the present semidesert-grass range is thinner. For example, on
the upper Rio Grande watershed in New Mexico it is estimated to
be only about 40 percent as thick as that of the virgin range. Other
studies on representative areas in the Trans-Pecos region of western
Texas also indicate that the plant cover on many present ranges is
scarcely 40 percent as thick as that on ungrazed areas in the same
region.
As a result of this marked thinning of the plant cover and the
widespread loss of valuable forage plants, the value of the semi-
desert range for feed has diminished greatly. Fully two-thirds of
Vi rgm
Range
Present
Range
I 234567
Acres Required per Cow (5 Sheep) perMorvth
FIGURE 29. Because of the serious loss in grazing capacity in the semidesert-grass
type, nearly 6^ acres is required per cow where 3 acres once furnished ample feed.
the semidesert range has less than half the forage value it once
possessed (table 11) and, as a whole, this range is one of the most
severely depleted range types of the entire West, as indicated by
the grazing-capacity comparison in figure 29.
TABLE 11. Depletion of virgin range in the semidesert-grass type t>y ownership
and depletion classes
Moderate
Material
Severe
Extreme
Ownership or control
depletion
(0 to 25 per-
depletion
(26 to 50 per-
depletion
(51 to 75 per-
depletion
(76 to 100 per-
All depletion
classes
cent)
cent)
cent)
cent)
1,000
Per-
1,000
Per-
1,000
Per-
1,000
Per-
1,000
Per-
Federal:
acres
cent
acres
cent
acres
cent
acres
cent
acres
cent
National forests
50
3
809
49
470
29
307
19
1,636
100
Indian lands
162
1
579
5
11, 197
91
415
3
12,353
100
Public domain grazing
districts
100
1
2,353
31
3,967
52
1,266
16
7,686
100
Other Federal
o
o
100
4
2,228
81
406
15
2,734
100
All Federal
312
1
3 841
16
17 862
73
2,394
10
24,409
100
State and county
366
2
6,806
42
9,054
55
214
1
16, 440
100
Private
1,639
3
14 621
30
30, 447
63
1,718
4
48, 425
100
All ownerships . . .
2,317
3
25,268
28
57, 363
64
4,326
5
89, 274
100
Aside from loss in forage values, the deterioration of the plant
cover has permitted the occurrence of destructive floods. Investiga-
94 THE WESTERN RANGE
tions in Arizona disclosed that thinning of the plant cover increased
run-off of summer rains and greatly accelerated the rate of soil loss.
One of a pair of lysimeter study plots, for example, had 51 percent
less grass cover than the other and on this plot the run-off of sum-
mer rainfall was 46 percent greater and the rate of soil loss almost
500 percent greater than on the adjoining plot with the thicker plant
cover.
The trend of range depletion is estimated to be downward on
about 90 percent of the semidesert-grass type (table 24, p. 115). The
most serious situation at present is on areas of long-established use
as in the Pecos, Rio Grande, Gila, and Santa Cruz Valleys where
prompt action must be taken to save these ranges. Although this
type is very susceptible to damage by overgrazing, and climatic con-
ditions make recovery slow and difficult, experience on the Tonto
National Forest hi central Arizona proves that if forage depletion
and soil erosion are not too far advanced, depleted ranges can be
restored. On this forest, certain semidesert-grass ranges deterio-
rated by year-long overstocking of cattle have been improved about
35 percent since 1927 by protecting the grasses during the growing
season and through conservative winter grazing.
SAGEBRUSH- GRASS
Third largest of all the range types and more than twice as large
as any other shrub type, the sagebrush-grass is an important part of
the forage resource and in many localities is the only range available
(fig. 30). With the exception of the true grass areas, the sage-
brush-grass ranges are potentially the most productive of any of the
range vegetation types. The northern portions are much used for
spring-fall range, and, because stockmen are dependent upon it for
feed in those seasons, it forms an indispensable link between the
winter and summer ranges.
The 96.5 million acres now in this type include an increase of about
6.5 million acres beyond the area occupied under virgin conditions.
This increase in area has been at the expense of bunchgrass in the
Pacific Northwest and short grass in Wyoming. Locally many grass
meadows also have been invaded by sagebrush. Thousands of acres
of sagebrush lands have been turned to crop agricultural purposes,
especially where irrigation was possible, but the greater portion of the
type still remains open range. Nearly half of the total area used as
range is open public domain, and over a third is privately owned.
Ill its original condition the sagebrush range consisted of a rather
sparse cover of sagebrush beneath which was a rich stand of palatable
perennial grasses and weeds. Today the sagebrush has thickened
greatly and in parts of Oregon, for example, has increased more than
60 percent. The palatable perennial grasses and weeds, however, have
almost entirely disappeared. Perennial grasses on the Snake River
Plains of Idaho are only one-fourth, and on representative areas in
Oregon but half as thick as on remnants of the virgin range. The
grass cover on sagebrush lands in central Nevada is only 10 percent,
in northern Nevada 24 percent, and in western Utah 36 percent as
thick as formerly. Over a large part of the type practically the only
feed left for livestock is the very inferior sagebrush itself.
THE WHITE MAN'S TOLL
95
SAGEBRUSH - GRASS
SOUTHERN DESERT SHRUB
SALT-DESERT SHRUB
MILES 200
EASTERN LIMIT OF RANGE TERRITORY
FIGURE 30. THE PRINCIPAL SHRUB TYPES OF THE PRESENT RANGE.
L of the southern desert-shrub type in the contiguous portions of California
Arizona is omitted, since these areas are virtually ungrazahle.
It is this tremendous loss of forage grasses and weeds that has
brought about the present low grazing capacity indicated in figure Sl-
it is estimated that grazing capacity in different parts of the type is
60 to 90 percent less than it was in pioneer days, as shown below :
Decline from virgin forage value : Percent
Southern Idaho 68
Eastern Oregon 65
Colorado and Wyoming 60-70
Western Colorado (badly depleted public domain) 90
Northern Nevada 71
Western Utah__ 69
96
THE WESTERN RANGE
For the type as a whole it is estimated that the forage on about 84
percent of the sagebrush-grass range has been severely or extremely
depleted and has been at least materially depleted on nearly all the
rest (table 12).
TABLE 12. Depletion of virgin range in the sagebrusfi-grass type by ownership
and depletion classes
Ownership or control
Moderate
depletion
(0-25 percent)
Material
depletion
(26-50 percent)
Severe
depletion
(51-75 percent)
Extreme
depletion
(76-100 per-
cent)
All depletion
classes
Federal:
National forests
1,000
acres
417
7
232
Per-
cent
11
0)
1
1
2
3
2
1,000
acres
2,455
1,612
2,509
2,531
Per-
cent
68
75
6
41
16
38
6
14
1,000
acres
733
470
22, 959
2,706
Per-
cent
20
22
53
44
49
41
46
47
1,000
acres
32
69
17, 537
910
Per-
cent
1
3
40
15
34
19
45
37
1,000
acres
3,637
2,158
43,237
6,147
Per-
cent
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
Indian lands. .
Public domain grazing
districts
Other Federal
All Federal .
656
105
1,058
9,107
2,469
1,920
26,868
2,704
16, 076
18,548
1,280
15, 737
55, 179
6,558
34, 791
State and county
Private
All ownerships
1,819
13, 496
45,648
35, 565
96,528
1 Less than 0.5 percent.
036
Acres Required per Cow (5 Sheep) per Month
FIGURE 31. Grazing capacity in the sagebrush-grass type has fallen so low that more than
three times the acreage per cow is needed today that was required a century ago.
The virtual wrecking of this valuable resource can be traced
directly to the apparent indifference of those controlling the use of
the land. As shown in table 12, 93 percent of the public domain and
91 percent of the private areas of sagebrush exhibit severe or extreme
forage depletion. And 81 percent of the entire sagebrush type is
in these two ownerships.
Although the forage of this type already is greatly depleted, still
further deterioration can be expected, for estimates based on detailed
studies over a large part of the sagebrush-grass range indicate that
on about 90 percent forage depletion is continuing (tables 24 and
25, pp. 115 and 116) . Only immediate and drastic changes in existing
policies for handling grazing on these ranges will prevent destruc-
tion of the remaining forage.
SOUTHERN DESERT SHRUB
The southern desert-shrub type (fig. 30) has been of less impor-
tance than other types in the development of the range industry.
THE WHITE MAN'S TOLL
97
Scant rainfall and extremely high temperatures have made most of
the type a desert with practically no dependable feed for livestock.
Only about 27 million of the 51 million acres in this type is usable
range and most of this can be used for but a few weeks in favorable
years. The practice is to use the range whenever feed and stock
water are available, thereby reserving adjoining ranges or saving
the expense of hay, cottonseed cake, and other supplemental feed.
To this extent, the southern desert-shrub type is of some local
importance.
More than half of the type is still in public ownership, chiefly
as unreserved public domain. The private land is concentrated in
irrigation projects such as the lower Rio Grande development in
New Mexico, and the Salt River Valley project of central Arizona.
Many attempts have been made to raise livestock in the southern
desert-shrub type, but without irrigation these have often failed.
The sagging ruins of windmill towers and the sunbleached boards of
tumbling shacks are all that remain to tell the story of efforts that
quickly destroyed themselves.
Virgin
Range
Present
Range
4 8 12
Acres Required per Cow (5 Sheep) per Month
FIGUEB 32. Where 4% acres per cow sufficed on the original southern desert-shrub
range, grazing capacity has so fallen off that nearly 12 acres are required today.
Even in its virgin condition ? dependable forage production in this
type was low and was restricted to small areas of grassland in
drainage ways, depressions, and flood plains. Most of the grass on
these alluvial areas has been destroyed. Worthless shrubs such as
creosotebush, tarbush, and mesquite are rapidly taking possession of
the remaining grass areas. The only abundant forage production
of the desert is the luxuriant growth of winter and spring annuals
which flourish in favorable years. At such times, alfileria, Indian-
wheat, bur-clover, milkvetch, and sixweeks fescue carpet the desert
valleys. Most important of all is alfileria, which appeared about
1870 along the freighting and stage routes in southern Arizona.
Examinations on the Rio Grande watershed indicate that near
the upper limits of the type the original plant cover was composed of
grasses and of weeds and browse in the ratio of about 4 to 1, whereas
the plant cover of the present range in that locality now has 77
percent weeds and browse and only 23 percent grass. Moreover, the
cover of the present range is only about one-third as thick as that
of the virgin range. The result, as expressed in grazing capacity, is
a great loss in range values, as shown in figure 32.
About 81 percent of the usable southern desert-shrub range is
severely or extremely depleted (table 13). On the relatively small
64946 3(
98
THE WESTERN RANGE
accessible grazing area of the type, forage depletion has proceeded
so far, and climatic conditions are so severe, that restoration of the
range will be exceedingly difficult and very slow.
TABLE 13. Depletion of virgin range in the southern desert-shrub type by own-
ership and depletion classes
Ownership or control
Moderate
depletion
(0-25 percent)
Material
depletion
(26-60 percent)
Severe
depletion
(51-75 percent)
Extreme
depletion
(76-100 per-
cent)
All depletion
classes
Federal:
National forests
1,000
acres
Per-
cent
1,000
acres
50
1,363
Per-
cent
51
21
1,000
acres
8
2,331
3,594
1,300
Per-
cent
8
97
56
85
1,000
acres
40
78
1,467
230
Per-
cent
41
3
23
15
1,000
acres
98
2,409
6,424
1,530
Per-
cent
100
100
100
100
Indian lands
Public domain grazing
districts
Other Federal
All Federal
1,413
1,252
2,343
14
22
22
7,233
4,300
5,548
69
74
52
1,815
240
2,752
17
4
26
10, 461
5,792
10,643
100
100
100
State and county
Private
All ownerships
5,008
19
17, 081
63
4,807
18
26,896
100
SALT-DESERT SHRUB
The salt-desert shrub (fig. 30), though only a moderately pro-
ductive range type, is important because it provides winter range
for about 6,000,000 sheep in Utah, central Nevada, Colorado, and
Wyoming.
The present area of the salt-desert range, about 41,000,000 acres,
is essentially the same as under virgin conditions. The alkaline sub-
soil has prevented the encroachment of adjoining vegetation types
and, as the low productivity of the soil and the scanty rainfall have
discouraged settlers from utilizing the land for crops, most of the
salt-desert type is still used as open range. Ownership, as in the
virgin range, rests largely with the Federal Government as unreserved
public domain.
Although the salt-desert-shrub type has changed but little in area
or ownership, it is by no means in its virgin forage condition. Some
of the main forage plants have almost disappeared from the type
and have been replaced by unpalatable species. The extermination
of valuable grasses and shrubs and their replacement by inferior
species is especially evident on some of the valley plains. Here on
the somewhat damper soils of the bottomlands, the once abundant
giant wild-rye has been almost entirely replaced by nearly worthless
greasewood. On the much more extensive, drier, and less saline soils
of the valley plains the valuable ricegrass and dropseed have been
so extensively killed out that they probably can be restored only by
artificial reseeding. Except for a few fringes, vast areas of the
palatable and nutritious winterf at, or "whitesage", have been replaced
by shadscale and little rabbitbrush. In the Ked Desert region of
southwestern Wyoming the almost worthless rabbitbrush and snake-
weed have displaced valuable forages on large tracts and are rapidly
THE WHITE MAN'S TOLL
99
dominating many other parts of the range. Thus, while remnants of
the virgin range have an average of only 59 rabbitbrush and 41
snakeweed plants per 2,000 square feet, heavily grazed areas of the
present range have 193 rabbitbrush and 196 snakeweed plants per
2,000 square feet of range, or virtual domination of the plant cover
by these worthless species.
Besides having a smaller proportion of valuable forage plants,
the plant cover on the salt-desert ranges is thinner now than in
pioneer days. An analysis of over 1,700 sample plots indicates that
the plant cover of the present range averages in western Utah only
55 percent, in central Nevada 78 percent, and in southwestern Wyo-
ming about 67 percent as dense as that on small remnant areas of
virgin or lightly grazed ranges.
The recent drought is responsible for a part of the current reduc-
tion in plant density but is not as serious a factor in range deple-
tion as is commonly assumed. Investigations in southwestern Wyo-
ming and in western Utah show conclusively that during the 1931-35
drought from 3 to 10 times as many plants have died on heavily
grazed areas as on nearby ungrazed or very lightly grazed portions
of the range (table 14) (136).
TABLE 14. Death losses of valuable forage plants in the salt-desert- shrul) type
during the 1931-35 drought
Species
Western Utah
Southwestern Wyo-
ming
Lightly
grazed
Heavily
grazed
Lightly
grazed
Heavily
grazed
Ricegrass
Percent
24
11
Percent
89
67
Percent
Percent
Winterfat..
11
5
2
31
40
20
Bud sagebrush
Nuttall salt bush
Forage values, because of these several aspects of plant depletion,
have shrunk greatly in the salt- desert-shrub type. The average
forage values on Nevada ranges are estimated to be only 49 percent
of those on areas protected from grazing; in Utah, 36 percent; and
in southwestern Wyoming, 43 percent. Resident stockmen who have
operated from 12 to 55 years on this range type estimate that the
present open range is as much as 80 percent less valuable as forage
than it was half a century ago. Of the 41 million acres in the salt-
desert-shrub type, almost 90 percent has less than half the forage
value of the virgin salt-desert range (table 15). The relation of
land ownership to the status of range depletion in the salt-desert
type is clearly indicated in this table. It is significant that 75 per-
cent of the type is public domain and that 90 percent of the public-
domain area is severely or extremely depleted. Grazing capacity
in this type has been reduced relatively more than in any of the
other types, as indicated in figure 33.
100
THE WESTERN RANGE
TABLE 15. Depletion of virgin range in the salt-desert-shrub type, by ownership
and depletion classes
Ownership or control
Moderate
depletion
(0-25 percent)
Material
depletion
(2&-50 percent)
Severe
depletion
(51-75 percent)
Extreme
depletion
(76-100 per-
cent )
All depletion
classes
Federal:
National forests
1,000
acres
181
5
25
Per-
cent
49
0)
o
i
1,000
acres
178
708
3,157
125
Per-
cent
49
43
10
6
1,000
acres
7
894
13, 876
200
Per-
cent
2
54
45
10
1,000
acres
50
13, 624
1,650
Per-
cent
3
45
83
1,000
acres
366
1,657
30, 657
2,000
Per-
cent
100
100
100
100
Indian lands
Public domain grazing
districts
Other Federal
All Federal
211
61
i
1
4,168
21
140
12
2
3
14, 977
250
2,374
43
27
45
15,324
656
2,677
44
71
51
34,680
927
5,251
100
100
100
State and county
Private
All ownerships
271
1
4,329
10
17,601
43
18, 657
46
40, 858
100
Less than 0.5 percent.
During the past 30 years the forage values on over 85 percent of
the type have been declining, and the present trend also is down-
ward (tables 24 and 25, pp. 115 and 116). As indicated in table 25,
only 1 percent of the type is exhibiting any appreciable improve-
ment in forage values.
O 6 12 18
Acres Required per Cow (5 Sheep) per Month
FIGURE 33. The greatest falling-off in grazing capacity is to be found in the salt-desert-
shrub type, where more than three and one-half times the acreage per cow is now
required.
PINON- JUNIPER
The pinon-juniper type extends as far north as south-central Ore-
gon, but is of value for forage mainly in Arizona, New Mexico, and
southern Colorado (fig. 34). It is much used for spring-fall range
and in some places as winter range, for which it is valuable because
its grasses cure naturally on the stalk and because the trees afford
protection to livestock.
There has been very little change in the total area of the pinon-
juniper type during the past century. The rocky slopes and flat-
topped mesas on which it is commonly found are not adapted to
crop agriculture, and very little of the original pinon-juniper type
has been diverted to agricultural crops. Three- fourths of the 76
million acres in the present pinon-juniper range is divided among
public domain, national forests, and private holdings.
On two-thirds of this type the forage is either materially or
severely depleted, and on an additional fourth it is extremely de-
pleted (table 16). This loss in forage value probably has resulted
THE WHITE MAN'S TOLL
101
from a general thinning of the herbaceous cover rather than from
extensive changes in its composition. For example, on pinon-juniper
ranges of the upper Kio Grande watershed in New Mexico, grasses
which originally made up about 80 percent of the herbaceous cover
still hold this position, except on the most severely depleted areas.
/////I PINON-JUNIPER
H WOODLAND-CHAPARRAL
OPEN FOREST
FIGURE 34. THE PRINCIPAL FOREST TYPES OF THE PRESENT RANGE.
Much of the open-forest type is on the national forests. Woodland-chaparral is wholly
a California type.
The average density of this herbaceous vegetation, however, is in
that region less than half what it was in the virgin condition. The
more northerly pinon-juniper ranges probably had a thin cover of
herbaceous vegetation even before the white man began to use those
ranges and, with long-continued and excessive use, the forage plants
102
THE WESTERN RANGE
have practically vanished from many portions of the type in Ne-
vada, Utah, and Oregon. There is also little doubt that the general
thickening of the tree stand throughout the type has still further
reduced the area which can be occupied by herbaceous plants.
Many of the small grassy "parks" characteristic of the type have
filled up with trees, and the junipers frequently have taken posses-
sion of meadows adjoining the type, thus gradually reducing the
amount of space available for grass and other forage.
TABLE 16. Depletion of virgin range in the pinon-juniper type, by ovmersUip
and depletion classes
Ownership or control
Moderate
depletion
(0-25 percent)
Material
depletion
(26-50 percent)
Severe
depletion
(51-75 percent)
Extreme
depletion
(76-100 per-
cent)
All depletion
classes
Federal:
National forests
1,000
acres
3,462
132
398
25
Per-
cent
25
1
2
1
1,000
acres
5,581
1,248
2,022
300
Per-
cent
41
12
9
6
1,000
acres
4,169
8,214
8,948
1,500
Per-
cent
30
80
40
33
1,000
acres
599
758
10,934
2,736
Per-
cent
4
7
49
60
1,000
acres
13, 811
10, 352
22, 302
4,561
Per-
cent
100
100
100
100
Indian lands
Public domain Grazing
districts
Other Federal
All Federal
4,017
309
1,652
8
8
8
9,151
958
6,332
18
25
30
22,831
682
8,675
45
18
42
15, 027
1,853
4,241
29
49
20
51, 026
3,802
20,900
100
100
100
State and county
Private .
All ownerships
5,978
8
16,441
22
32, 188
42
21, 121
28
75,728
100
As a result of the general thinning of the plant cover and the
rather widespread shrinkage in the area available for the herbaceous
vegetation between the trees, the grazing capacity has declined
throughout the type. On heavily used ranges in the Eio Grande
Basin of New Mexico, it is estimated that the grazing capacity is,
on the average, only about half of what it was originally, and many
ranges in that locality show a loss of over 80 percent. Severely over-
grazed pinon- juniper ranges in south-central Arizona also are be-
lieved to have lost about three-fourths of their grazing capacity.
The reduction in the type as a whole is indicated in figure 35.
Vi rg i n
Range
Present
Range
0369
Acres Required per Cow (5 Sheep) per Month
FIGURE 35. Estimated grazing capacity of the pifion-juniper type under virgin-range
conditions has been reduced by more than half.
The most widespread and serious forage depletion in the pifion-
juniper type is, as shown in table 16, on the public domain, Indian
lands, and privately owned ranges. Under these three forms of
control more than half of the entire area of the pinon- juniper type
has lost from 50 to 100 percent of its forage value.
THE WHITE MAN'S TOLL,
' 103
This reduction in forage values is not a recent development. Dur-
ing the last 25 or 30 years nearly three-fourths of the piflon- juniper
type has steadily deteriorated as a forage resource (table 24, p. 115) .
During this period scarcely one-fifth of the total area in the type
has shown any improvement whatever, and practically all of this is
on the national forests of the Southwest.
WOODLAND- CHAPARRAL
The woodland-chaparral type occurs chiefly in California, where
it forms a transition zone between the grassy pastures and crop lands
of the Great Central Valley and the timbered areas of the higher
mountains; it also covers extensive areas in the coast ranges (fig.
34.) The lower portions of this type are open woodlands containing
valuable forage and are much used for fall, winter, and spring
grazing. The upper portions are mostly chaparral, impenetrable
thickets of brush of low value or unfit for grazing but extremely
valuable in watershed protection and in preventing flood damage to
lower areas.
In California the type is estimated to cover about 19 million acres,
of which approximately 13.4 million acres are open to grazing.
The type has increased about 3.5 million acres during the past cen-
tury. About 70 percent of this expansion has been at the expense of
adjoining areas of commercial timber, as a result of fire and logging.
Ownership of the present woodland-chaparral range is largely
private, only about 20 percent being in public ownership.
The make-up of the herbaceous plant cover in this type has under-
gone tremendous changes within the past century. More than 30
years ago, at least one valuable forage plant, California oatgrass,
had become scarce in certain parts of the type (1$). Other good
forage plants, such as needlegrass and oniongrass are now much
less abundant. Partially replacing the plants lost from the type
are three valuable immigrants which have appeared in consider-
able quantity : Alfileria, slender oat, and bur-clover. Unfortunately,
most of the other immigrant plants are of very little value as feed
for livestock and at least one of them is poisonous. St. Johnswort,
or "Klamath weed", an aggressive and poisonous introduced plant,
was first observed by stockmen about 1900 and is now estimated to
have spread over more than 100,000 acres of California grazing
lands in this and adjoining types (117). Other uninvited guests,
more especially foxtail chess, ripgut grass, and other species of chess
or "cheatgrass ' having stiff beards (awns), mature early and, because
of mechanical injury, force the removal of sheep from many parts of
the range. The prevalence of foreign plants in this range type was
strikingly illustrated by a survey in the San Joaquin Valley where
on 907 sample plots, the exotic plants were found to make up 59
percent of the plant cover in the woodland portions of the type and
51 percent in the chaparral.
Extensive replacement of good forage plants by species of little
or no forage value has occurred throughout the type. On a small
ungrazed area near Sonora, Calif., it was found that 95 percent
of the grasses and herbs originally present were palatable and nutri-
tious, whereas only 36 percent of the grasses and herbs on adjacent
grazed areas are suitable for feed (table 17). A survey in the
104
THE WESTERN RANGE
woodland portion of the type in the San Joaquin Valley gave still
further evidence of the replacement of valuable perennials by in-
ferior annual grasses and weeds: Sample plots on ungrazed areas
there have an average of about 69 percent perennial and 31 per-
cent annual plants, but plots on typical nearby grazed areas indicate
that the herbaceous vegetation of the present range has only 2 per-
cent perennials but 98 percent annuals.
The herbaceous plant cover is, over most of the type, as thick
now as it was before the range was used by domestic livestock. As
has been noted, new plants have come into the type in sufficient num-
bers to replace completely those which have disappeared. Even
though the herbaceous cover is as thick as formerly, however, the
total area available for grazing is smaller because existing brush
thickets have expanded and new ones have appeared. Thus, the
decline in grazing capacity shown in figure 36 is attributable both
to the smaller percentage of valuable forage plants and to the smaller
area available for forage production.
Virgin
Range
Present
Range
2 4 6 8 10
Acres Required per Cow (5 Sheep) per Month
FIGURE 36. Reduction in grazing capacity in the woodland-chaparral type since pioneer
days is estimated at 50 percent.
TABLE 17. Approximate composition of the herbaceous cover on virgin and
present ranges in the woodland-chaparral type
Composition
Small rem-
nant of the
virgin
range
Present
(grazed)
range
Percent
90
Percent
Annual grasses and herbs:
5
36
5
64
Total -
100
100
It is estimated that the forage is severely depleted on fully one-
half of the present woodland-chaparral range, and at least materially
depleted on the remainder (table 18). Moreover, depletion is con-
tinuing on about three-fourths of the type (tables 24 and 25). This
depletion results chiefly from the grass and, brush fires which sweep
across the foothill country. Woodland-chaparral ranges in all own-
erships have suffered alike from fire. Even though most of these
ranges are privately owned, high watershed and wildlife values of
the type are of great public importance and concerted public and
private action is needed to exclude fire from the woodland-chaparral
ranges.
THE WHITE MAN'S TOLL
105
TABLE 18. Depletion of virgin range in the woodland-chaparral type
ownership and depletion classes
Ownership or control
Moderate
depletion
(0-25 percent)
Material
depletion
(26-50 percent)
Severe
depletion
(51-75 percent)
Extreme
depletion
(76-100 per-
cent)
All depletion
classes
Federal:
National forests
1,000
acres
12
Per-
cent
2
1,000
acres
500
72
796
60
Per-
cent
70
92
47
50
1,000
acres
200
6
897
60
Per-
cent
28
8
53
50
1,000
acres
Per-
cent
2
1,000
acres
712
78
1,693
120
Per-
cent
100
100
100
100
Indian lands
Public domain grazing
districts
Other Federal
All Federal
12
150
P) o
1
1,428
83
4,826
55
51
45
1,163
80
5,490
45
49
52
174
2,603
163
10, 640
100
100
100
State and county. . .
Private
All ownerships
162
1
6,337
48
6,733
50
174
1
13, 406
100
i Less than 0.5 percent.
OPEN FORESTS
Open forests are a prominent part of the grazing resource. These
forests of more or less widely spaced trees with intermingled grassy
meadows and browse thickets comprise the second largest (126 mil-
lion acres) of all the range types (fig. 34) and the most widely dis-
tributed. It includes such diverse forms as nearly pure stands of
ponderosa pine, ponderosa pine with sugar pine or Douglas fir, aspen
and fir, spruce and fir, alpine grasslands, and mountain brush. Much
of it occurs on steep hillsides. Although used to some extent as
spring-fall range, the open-forest type is preeminently a summer
range. Much of it lies at high altitudes where the snow remains
late in the spring and forage generally does not become available to
livestock as early as in other range types. Portions of the type
which lie at lower elevations ordinarily are used for spring-fall
range.
Of the 126 million acres of open-forest range, about half is in large
blocks under national-forest supervision and a little more than a
third is in much smaller, more widely scattered privately owned
units.
Forage depletion in the open-forest type has resulted, as in other
range types, from the replacement of good forage plants by poor
ones, and from a general thinning of the herbaceous cover. In addi-
tion, the development of dense thickets of young trees or brush, de-
sirable as this may be for timber production or watershed protection,
has reduced the area available for forage plants.
The most serious forage depletion is on the numerous grassy
meadows scattered through the type, which, though relatively small
in total area, formerly had a very large part of the best forage.
Replacement of palatable species by plants of inferior grazing value
is especially evident here. On representative forest meadows in
Oregon and Washington where tufted hairgrass originally was 90
percent of the ground cover, it is now only 50 percent, having been
replaced by dandelion, knotweed, and senecio. In the ponderosa
pine forests of the Coconino Plateau in Arizona, grasses are 90 per-
cent and unpalatable weeds 2 percent of the herbaceous cover on
lightly grazed meadows ? whereas on heavily grazed areas grasses are
106 THE WESTEKN KANGE
only 10 percent and unpalatable weeds 75 percent of the cover. On
some forest meadows of Montana, redtop, alpine bluegrass, sheep
fescue, oatgrass, gentian, and alpine willows have dwindled in num-
bers, giving way to weeds of low palatability. In the ponderosa pine
forests of Montana and northern Idaho it is reported that such for-
age grasses as wheatgrass, Idaho fescue, and bluegrass are scarcer,
and that downy chess ("cheatgrass") and inferior weeds are increas-
ing. In the Southwest, mountain-mahogany, cliffrose, and other
highly palatable browse species are being replaced in many places by
the much less palatable manzanita and skunkbush.
Likewise the greatest changes in the density of the herbaceous
cover have occurred in the forest meadows, "parks", and alpine grass-
lands. Cattle congregate on such areas and, because feed is more
abundant and herding easier, it is difficult to prevent overuse by
sheep. In some parts of the ponderosa pine forests of northern
Arizona it is estimated that the herbaceous cover on these mountain
parks is only 45 percent as thick as on similar areas where livestock
have not congregated. An analysis of results obtained by measuring
the herbaceous cover on nearly 1,200 plots in the open forests and
mountain meadows of Colorado and Wyoming indicates the following
reductions in density of plant cover:
Reduction from density of virgin range : Percent
Open lodgepole pine 11
Ponderosa pine 21
Alpine meadows 34
Aspen forests 45
Oak brush 45
In some parts of the type the density of the herbaceous cover has
been reduced to practically nothing through development of dense
thickets of pine reproduction. These thickets vary from a few square
feet to several acres in size and effectively shade out the herbaceous
plants. Thus, although the total acreage classified as open-forest
type may remain constant, the net area available for forage plants
may be considerably smaller. On the Sitgreaves National Forest in
Arizona, it is estimated that the development of dense pine thickets
on some parts of that forest has been an important factor in reduc-
ing the grazing capacity of that range fully 25 percent in the last
20 years. Dense thickets of young pine trees frequently occur on
logged-over areas of ponderosa pine forests and reduce the amount
of space available for forage production as do similar thickets in
the uncut forests. Expansion of brush on logged-over areas also
materially decreases the space available for herbaceous plants. A
notable example is the 10-mile advance on a 30-mile front of chap-
arral thickets on cut-over pine lands in Eldorado County, Calif.
(18Ji). These trees and brush thickets are, however, highly desirable
for maintenance of the timber supplies and for watershed protection
and it should also be appreciated that the loss in forage may be
merely temporary while the trees are attaining maturity.
The net result of increased numbers of inferior species, less density
of vegetation, and the incursion of thickets is expressed in the
reduced grazing capacity shown in figure 37.
THE WHITE MAN'S TOLL,
107
Forage conditions on the open-forest range as a whole are better
than in any other type except the tall-grass (table 21, p. 111). But
these conditions vary widely with ownership. As shown in table 19,
forage depletion has reached an advanced stage under some forms of
ownership or land management. About one-half of the type is in
the national forests, and a majority of the national-forest ranges
have less than 25-percent forage depletion. Forest ranges under
other forms of Federal control are, as shown in table 19, largely de-
Virgm
Range
Present
Range
0246
Acres Required per Cow (5 Sheep) per Month
FIGURE 37. Estimated original and present grazing capacity in the open-forest type,
where nearly half again the range area per animal unit is now required.
pleted materially or worse. About one-fourth of the privately
owned forest ranges and about the same proportion of State and
county lands in this type are in reasonably good condition.
TABLE 19. Depletion of virgin range in the open-forest type by ownership and
depletion classes
Ownership or control
Moderate
depletion
(0-25 percent)
Material
depletion
(26-50 percent)
Severe
depletion
(51-75 percent)
Extreme
depletion
(76-100 per-
cent)
All depletion
classes
Federal:
National forests
1,000
acres
35, 670
1,441
581
100
Per-
cent
55
20
13
6
1,000
acres
24, 349
4,437
749
857
Per-
cent
37
62
17
49
1,000
acres
4,412
1,156
2,194
773
Per-
cent
7
16
51
44
1,000
acres
354
156
811
9
Per-
cent
1
2
19
1
1,000
acres
64,785
7,190
4,335
1,739
Per-
cent
100
100
100
100
Indian lands.
Public domain grazing
districts
Other Federal
All Federal
37, 792
1,250
12, 116
48
26
28
30, 392
2,081
20,188
39
44
46
8,535
1,103
9,073
11
23
21
1,330
316
2,191
2
7
5
78,049
4,750
43,568
100
100
100
State and county
Private ...
All ownerships . ..
51, 158
40
52, 661
42
18, 711
15
3,837
3
126, 367
100
The close connection between ownership and degree of forage
depletion is illustrated by a recent survey in the open forests of
Colorado, Wyoming, and the Black Hills of South Dakota. Detailed
studies on nearly 1,200 sample plots (table 20) indicate that the
average loss in forage values from virgin forage conditions is as
follows: Lands under national-forest management, 25 percent; pri-
vately owned ranges, 41 percent; and public domain, 63 percent.
It should be noted that these average relationships also hold for
smaller portions of the type, indicating that form of management
rather than local variation in the type itself is responsible for these
large differences in forage depletion.
108
THE WESTERN RANGE
TABLE 20. Decline in range forage value as related to ownership (or control)
of range lands in the open-forest type in Colorado, Wyoming, and South
Dakota
Type
National
forest
Private
Public
domain
Ponderosa pine
Percent
21.8
Percent
29.2
Percent
Alpine meadows
20.2
68.6
Aspen forests
31 6
71 9
Oak brush
17.4
56.7
63.3
Average loss (weighted) .. _
25
41
63
Such differences are likely to be even larger in the future. The
national-forest ranges, when placed under management in 1905, were
for the most part in about the same condition as other public and
privately owned ranges are today. Before creation of the national
forests these areas were "free range" and were misused by local
stockmen in much the same way as the present unreserved public
domain. Early records of the Forest Service, amply substantiated
by statements of local residents, describe many national-forest ranges
in this type as being little better than "dust beds" almost devoid of
forage plants. Although these national-forest ranges are not yet
restored to full grazing capacity, the remarkable improvement which
has been obtained during the past 30 years proves that with sys-
tematic management the remaining open-forest ranges now in poor
condition can be reclaimed. It is estimated that nearly 60 percent
of the open-forest type has shown appreciable improvement during
the past quarter century but that the forage values on about 25 per-
cent are being still further decreased (table 24, p. 115). During the
past 5 years, as shown in table 25 (p. 116) , the recent unprecedented
drought (abetted probably by other factors) has caused a temporary
shift in trends, and only about 35 percent of the open-forest ranges
are at present thought to be improving in forage value.
UNGRAZED AREAS
Of the 974,548,480 acres gross area of the present western range
country, over 245 million cannot be used for grazing. Of these,
68 million acres are in dense forests ; 10 116 million acres in farms ;
slightly over 2 million acres are in cities, towns, railroad, and high-
way rights-of -way ; and 59 million acres are barren or inaccessible.
In addition, about 8.4 million acres of grazable land are at present
closed to grazing in order to safeguard water supplies or for other
reasons.
A CENTURY'S TOLL IN "FREE USE" OF THE RANGE
The figures given in table 5 indicated radical changes in area and
ownership throughout the range area, but even more sweeping than
these are the changes that have occurred in the forage resource itself,
10 Several million acres of pasture in the dense forest type are not included in this
68 million acres. The total area of these pastures is so small that a separate type
classification could not be established and they are included therefore in other range
types.
THE WHITE MAN'S TOLL
109
51-75% DEPLETION
MORE THAN 75% DEPLETION
FIGURE 38. DEGREE AND EXTENT OF FORAGE DEPLETION ON THE PRESENT
RANGE.
Severe depletion (5175 percent) and extreme depletion (76100 percent) predominate
throughout the West, save in the resilient tall-grass, short-grass, and Pacific bunch-
grass types. (The white areas of primarily nonrange land comprise chiefly agri-
cultural land, desert, and dense forest.)
110
THE WESTEKN RANGE
as the foregoing type descriptions have made clear. These have in-
volved striking adjustments in the composition of the vegetation
cover. Valuable forage plants, such as bluebunch wheatgrass, giant
wild-rye, and ricegrass have entirely disappeared, or almost so, from
several range types; palatable plants, such as "little bluestem",
buffalo grass, grama, wild-rye, and winterfat have been replaced by
such unpalatable plants as snakeweed, cactus, greasewood, shadscale,
and rabbitbrush; perennial grasses have given way to much less
nutritious annual grasses, in some types changing the herbaceous
cover from 75 percent or more perennial grasses to 60 or YO percent
annual grasses. Foreign plants, many of them nearly worthless or
even poisonous, have appeared in large numbers. The forage re-
source of the present range also differs from that of the virgin range
in that the whole plant cover is much thinner; in many instances
the present cover is less than half as thick as it was a few decades
ago. And, in some parts of the range, there is less soil space avail-
able for forage plants because of the development of dense thickets
of brush or young trees.
FIGURE 39. DEGREE OF DEPLETION IN FORAGE TYPES.
The types least depleted are the resilient tall-grass and the open-forest, half of which
is in the national forests.
TABLE 21. Depletion of virgin, range forage by types and depletion classes
Type
Moderate de-
pletion (0-
25 percent)
Material de-
pletion (26-
50 percent)
Severe de-
pletion (51-
75 percent)
Extreme de-
pletion (76-
100 percent)
All de-
pletion
classes
Tall grass
1,000
acres
13,589
16, 047
3,484
2,317
1,819
271
5,978
162
51, 158
Per-
cent
73.4
8.1
8.2
2.6
1.9
0.7
7.9
1.2
40.5
1,000
acres
4,175
101, 690
15, 592
25,268
13, 496
5,008
4,329
16, 441
6,337
52, 661
Per-
cent
22.6
51.3
36.7
28.3
14.0
18.6
10.6
21.7
47.3
41.7
1,000
acres
54,424
20, 721
57, 363
45, 648
17, 081
17,601
32, 188
6,733
18, 711
Per-
cent
27.5
48.7
64.3
47.3
63.5
43.1
42.5
50.2
14.8
1,000
acres
749
25,931
2,737
4,326
35, 565
4,807
18, 657
21, 121
174
3,837
Per-
cent
4.0
13.1
6.4
4.8
36.8
17.9
45.6
27.9
1.3
3.0
1,000
acres
18, 513
198, 092
42, 534
89, 274
96, 528
26, 896
40,858
75, 728
13,406
126, 367
Short grass _
Pacific bunchgrass.
Semidesert grass
Sagebrush-grass
Southern desert shrub
Salt-desert shrub .
Pinon-juniper
Woodland-chaparral . ..
Open forests
All types
94, 825
13.0
244, 997
33.7
270, 470
37.1
117,904
16.2
728, 196
These changes in the character of the forage resource have greatly
lessened its value (fig. 38). It is estimated that the forage on about
55 percent of the present range is severely or extremely depleted
and has less than half its former value (table 21). Only 15 percent
of the total area of the present range is in reasonably satisfactory
condition. The relative average depletion in the range types is
shown in figure 39. The tall-grass prairies, with three-fourths of
their total acreage having but moderate depletion, is in the best
condition of any range type (fig. 40). The open-forest type of
which 40 percent is only moderately depleted, and 18 percent severely
or extremely depleted, is second best. The salt-desert-shrub type
apparently is in the worst condition, since on nearly nine-tenths of
its total area forage values have fallen 50 to 100 percent. The
southern desert shrub, the sagebrush-grass, the semidesert grass, and
the pifion-juniper types are now worth for forage scarcely a third
of what they were a few decades ago.
THE WHITE MAN'S TOLL
111
The primary cause of forage depletion is poor management. For
example, it is well known that the unreserved public domain has been
treated as "free range", open to any number of livestock and subject
to no regulations designed to maintain its productivity. As a con-
sequence 84 percent of the public domain has lost more than half
its forage value (table '22) and the entire area has been depleted an
average of 67 percent (table 23). The national-forest ranges, on the
Tall Grass
Short Grass__
Pacific Bunchgrass
Semi desert Grass
Sagebrush-Grass
Southern Desert
Shrub
Salt- Desert Shrub
Pi non-Juniper
Wood land-Chaparral
Open Forest
All Types
C
y///////////////\
y/////////////^^^^
w////////////////^^^^
y//////////////^
^///////////////////^^^
^/////////////^^^
w///////////////^
y/////////////////////^^
'/////////////////^^^
////////////////^^^
r
) 25 50 75
PERCENT
other hand, though in poor condition when put under regulation and
though used continuously by large numbers of livestock have been
handled so as to perpetuate and build up the forage resource. As
a result of this better management, only 14 percent of these Federal
grazing lands are in the severely or extremely depleted classes (fig.
41). Unfortunately, these demonstrated improvements in national-
forest ranges can have but a minor influence in halting depletion on
the western range as a whole, for the national-forest ranges consti-
tute only 12 percent of the total grazable area in the West.
With destruction of the plant cover has come soil deterioration.
As emphasized in another part of this report, sheet and gully erosion
112
THE WESTERN RANGE
PERCENT
100
100
75
50
25
100
75
50
25
SAGEBRUSH-
GRASS
PINON-
JUNIPER
SOUTHERN
DESERT SHRUB
WOODLAND-
CHAPARRAL
SALT-
DESERT SHRUB
OPEN
FOREST
0- 26- 51- 76-
25 50 75 100
0- 26- 51- 76-
25 50 75 100
0- 26- 51- 76-
25 50 75 100
DEPLETION CLASSES (PERCENT)
FIGURE 40. DEGREES OF DEPLETION IN EACH TYPE.
Losses in forage values range from the very favorable condition in the tall-grass to the
desperate situation in the shrub types.
THE WHITE MAN'S TOLL
113
PERCENT
100
50
25
100
75
50
25
PUBLIC DOMAIN
AND GRAZING
DISTRICTS
NATIONAL
FORESTS
OTHER
FEDERAL
STATE AND
COUNTY
0- 26- 51- 76-
25 50 75 100
0- 26- 51- 76-
25 50 75 100
0- 26- 51- 76-
25 50 75 100
DEPLETION CLASSES (PERCENT)
FIGUBB 41. DEPLETION IN THE DIFFERENT OWNERSHIP CLASSES
The advantages of grazing management are indicated by the small percentages of severe
or extreme depletion on the national-forest ranges in contrast with other ownerships.
6494636 9
114
THE WESTERN RANGE
are appearing on many western ranges, washing away the fertile
topsoil and preventing reestablishment of the plant cover.
TABLE 22. Depletion of virgin-range forage ly ownership and depletion classes
Ownership or control
Moderate
depletion
(0-25 percent)
Material
depletion
(26-50 percent)
Severe
depletion
(51-75 percent)
Extreme
depletion
(76-100 per-
cent)
All depletion
classes
Federal:
National forests
1,000
acres
40,897
3,171
1,868
463
Per-
cent
46.5
6.6
1.5
2.0
1,000
acres
35, 172
17,328
18,320
4,871
Per-
cent
40.0
35.8
14.3
21.2
1,000
acres
10, 553
26,128
61,168
11,527
Per-
cent
12.0
54.0
47.9
50.1
1,000
acres
1,332
1,764
46, 436
6,136
Per-
cent
1.5
3.6
36.3
26.7
1,000
acres
87, 954
48, 391
127, 792
22, 997
Per-
cent
100
100
100
100
Indian lands
Public domain grazing
districts
Other Federal
All Federal
46, 399
4,676
43,750
16.1
7.1
11.7
75, 691
30,909
138, 397
26.4
47.2
36.9
109, 376
24,209
136, 885
38.1
37.0
36.4
55,668
5,722
56, 514
19.4
8.7
15.0
287, 134
65, 516
375, 546
100
100
100
State and county
Private
All ownerships-
94. 825
13.0
244,997
33.7
270, 470
37.1
117, 904
16.2
728, 196
100
TABLE 23. Average forage depletion
Type
National
forests
Indian
lands
Public
domain-
grazing
districts
Other
Federal
All
Federal
State
and
county
Private
All
owner-
ships
Tall grass
Percent
12
Percent
20
Percent
12
Percent
12
Percent
14
Percent
12
Percent
22
Percent
21
Short grass . _
30
38
47
65
43
43
51
49
Pacific bunchgrass..
Semidesert grass
Sagebrush-grass
Southern desert
shrub
37
53
40
60
70
62
45
63
68
58
71
63
59
65
56
66
55
60
86
63
54
51
57
58
50
64
71
63
51
55
67
62
Salt-desert shrub.. -
Pinon-juniper
26
41
52
61
71
72
81
76
70
61
80
64
74
56
71
60
Woodland-chaparraL
Open forests
44
26
39
38
51
56
50
47
49
29
50
40
51
38
50
33
All types
30
51
67
63
53
49
51
52
That drastic and immediate action is necessary on a large scale is
indicated not only by the present deplorable condition of most of
the western range but also by the present trends in forage deple-
tion, as shown in figure 42. It is estimated that fully 75 percent
of the present range has declined in forage value during the past
25 or 30 years and on only about 16 percent of the total grazable area
has there been any improvement in forage conditions during this
period (table 24). The only notable exceptions are (1) the tall-
grass prairies, of which about 60 percent have remained in good
condition or have improved, and (2) the open-forest ranges, which
have shown appreciable improvement on about 55 or 60 percent of
their area.
The least improvement in forage conditions has been on the
public-domain ranges, where only 2 percent of the area has improved
and over 90 percent has steadily deteriorated. The greatest improve-
ment during the past quarter century has been on national-forest
ranges, of which about 77 percent are believed to have improved
and forage depletion has at least been stopped on approximately 18
percent of the total area in these ranges.
THE WHITE MAN'S TOLL 115
TABLE 24. Trends in range forage depletion for approximate period 1905-85
Type or ownership (or control)
Appreciable
improvement
in forage l
Appreciable
decline in
forage
Forage conditions
more or less
unchanged
Total
area
Tall grass
1,000
acres
11,239
10,446
2,637
2,083
3,420
44
270
14,929
653
72,687
Per-
cent
61
5
6
2
4
( 2 )
20
5
68
1,000
acres
6,354
185,006
35, 397
80, 717
87,104
25,911
35, 407
54,283
10, 521
31, 970
Per-
cent
34
94
83
91
90
96
86
72
78
25
1,000
acres
920
2,640
4,500
6,474
6,004
941
5,181
6,516
2,232
21, 710
Per-
cent
5
11
7
6
4
13
8
17
17
1,000
acres
18, 513
198, 092
42,534
89, 274
96, 528
26, 896
40, 858
75,728
13,406
126, 367
Short grass
Pacific bunchgrass
Seinidesert grass .
Sagebrush-grass
Southern desert shrub
Salt-desert shrub
Pinon-juniper
Woodland-chaparral
Open forests
Total
118, 408
67,880
4,875
2,697
1,532
4,479
36, 945
16
552, 670
3,885
36, 130
118, 148
18,685
57, 473
318, 349
76
57, 118
16, 189
7,386
6,947
2,780
3,564
20,252
8
728, 196
87,954
48, 391
127, 792
22, 997
65, 516
375, 546
Federal ownership and control:
National forests
77
10
2
7
7
10
5
75
93
81
88
85
18
15
5
12
5
5
Indian lands ...
Public domain grazing districts-
Other Federal
State and county
Private
118,408
16
552, 670
76
57, 118
8
728, 196
Includes also those areas in satisfactory condition at beginning of period which are unchanged in con-
dit ion. 2 Less than 0.5 percent.
RANGE
TYPE
Southern
Desert Shrub
Salt-Desert
Shrub
Pinon\Juniper _
Woodland -
Chaparral _
Open Forest _
All Types
UPGRADE
OR UNCHANGED
DOWNGRADE
100
50 25 25 50
TOTAL AREA IN TYPE (PERCENT)
75
100
FIGURE 42. THIRTY-YEAR TRENDS IN THE DIFFERENT RANGE TYPES.
Over a large portion of the vigorous tall-grass type, and also in the open forest, half of
which is under national-forest management, forage values are improving or at least
stationary. Downward trends in the greater part of the other types reflect mainly
the results of unrestrained use.
116
THE WESTERN RANGE
More recently (table 25), these proportions have changed for the
national forests. It is estimated that only about 50 percent of the
national-forest ranges are continuing to improve, although further
forage depletion has been stopped on about 32 percent of the total
area of national-forest ranges. The reason for this recent change
can be traced directly to the increase in number of livestock per-
mitted on the national forests during the World War, aggravated
by the recent exceptionally dry years. For various reasons, which
will be explained in a later chapter, it has not been possible to reduce
the number of livestock using these ranges to limits which officials
know to be necessary to preserve the forage. The recent droughts,
coming at a time when the range was overstocked even for normal
years, caused a still further decline in forage values. No appreciable
changes in forage depletion trends have been noted for other owner-
ships, since these (as shown in tables 24 and 25) already were 85
percent or more on the downgrade.
TABLE 25. Trends in range forage depletion for approximate period 1930-35
Type or ownership (or control)
Appreciable
improvement
in forage l
Appreciable
decline in
forage
Forage conditions
more or less
unchanged
Total
area
Tall grass
1,000
acres
202
2,860
1,068
1,746
2,670
130
430
7,385
844
45,860
Per-
cent
2
3
2
3
1
10
6
36
1,000
acres
16, 767
186,907
34,666
82,002
88,769
21, 357
38,356
55,872
9,080
42,990
Per-
cent
91
94
81
92
92
79
94
74
68
34
1,000
acres
1,544
8,325
6,800
5,526
5,089
5,409
2,072
12,471
3,482
37, 517
Per-
cent
8
4
16
6
5
20
5
16
26
30
1,000
acres
18, 513
198, 092
42,534
89,274
96,528
26, 896
40,858
75,728
13,406
126, 367
Short grass
Pacific bunchgrass
Semidesert grass . .
Sagebrush-grass
Southern desert shrub
Salt-desert shrub
Pinon-juniper
Wooland-chaparral
Open forests
Total
63,195
9
576, 766
79
88,235
12
728, 196
Federal ownership and control:
National forests
42,894
1,953
1,255
568
1,969
14, 556
49
4
1
2
3
4
16, 821
36, 760
118, 673
18, 360
68,961
327, 191
19
76
93
80
90
87
28,239
9,678
7,864
4,069
4,586
33,799
32
20
6
18
7
9
87, 954
48, 391
127, 792
22,997
65, 516
375, 546
Indian lands
Public domain grazing districts-
Other Federal
State and county ._
Private
Total
63,195
9
576, 766
79
88,235
12
728, 196
1 Includes also those areas in satisfactory condition at beginning of period which are unchanged in con-
dition.
The need for range management is gradually being recognized.
Regulation similar to that practiced on the national forests for the
past 30 years is being put into effect on Indian lands, and more
recently, a part of the unreserved public domain has been organized
into grazing districts. But prompt action on a larger, much more
decisive scale is needed to prevent devastation of the forage resource.
Several range types already are nearly worthless. The forage of
all types has far less than its normal value. Forage depletion is
widespread. And forage depletion is continuing : bad conditions are
j. The "Great American Desert" of the Forty-niners'
getting worse
fancy is rapidly becoming just that in fact.
IV. HOW AND WHY
Information such as that already given on the range in its virgin
and present condition is necessary as a basis for the constructive
program, which is the fundamental purpose of this report. Equally
necessary is an understanding of the how and why of what has
happened. The story which follows in this chapter is mostly the
how and why of depletion, the historical events, the influence of a
climate not too favorable, the philosophy of range-resource man-
agement and how it has been reflected in the everyday use of the
range, the philosophy of land ownership and how it has been re-
flected in land legislation, interpretation, and administration, the
various financial forces a complex interrelated group of causes
and forces which have blinded both range users and the public to
trends and consequences. In smaller degree the story is also of how
and why some ranges have been practically restored and some frag-
ments have been maintained in satisfactory condition.
117
HISTORY OF RANGE USE
By GEOKGE STEWART, Senior Forest Ecologist, Intermountain Forest and Range
Experiment Station
THE GREAT BOOM IN KANGE CATTLE, 1880-85
The first era of intensive use of western range by livestock coin-
cided with the great boom in range cattle, which was on the upswing
in 1880. By 1881 the price recovery from the 1873 depression gen-
erated in the grazing industry a tide of expansion which became a
veritable flood in 1883. That year, in Wyoming alone, 20 mammoth
cattle companies were organized with a total capitalization of more
than $12,000,000 (98). Of these, the Union Cattle Co. was incor-
porated for $2,000,000; and the North American Cattle Co. and the
Searight Cattle Co. for $1,000,000 each. Six others each floated
stock of a half million dollars or more. Wyoming, however, was
merely a representative area the same thing was happening, or had
just happened, up and down the Great Plains from Montana to
Texas and across the Southwest to California. Even Colorado,
Utah, Nevada, and Idaho felt the surge of this tide. In a few short
years practically all ranges were under use and in many cases deple-
tion had commenced on a scale in keeping with the size of the herds.
Outfits owning 5,000 to 100,000 cattle were common on the Plains
and in the Southwest, and properties of small owners were often
consolidated by purchase or by incorporation. The world-famous
Santa Gertrudis Kanch of 500,000 acres near Brownsville, Tex.,
was built up by purchased additions to the original Spanish grant
of 12 secios of 4,428 acres each (118). The Swan Land & Cattle
Co. was started by combining three ranch properties, totaling about
30,000 acres and 100,000 cattle, with a half -million-acre range ex-
tending irregularly from Ogallala, Nebr., westward to Fort Steele,
Wyo., and from the Union Pacific Kailroad northward to the Platte
Kiver (98). The XIT outfit in the Texas Panhandle ran about 150,-
000 head on 3,000,000 acres of land 25 miles east and west by 200
miles north and south. Hundreds of other ranches running some-
what fewer cattle, chiefly on public land, had occupied most of the
range by 1883 and all of it in the Plains Region by 1885 (19). The
cattle numbers by States, shown in table 26 for 1870, 1880, and
1886, indicate how rapidly the range forage was appropriated.
TABLE 26. Cattle numbers' 1 in the 17 western range States, for 1870, 1880, and
1886
[000 omitted]
State
1870
1880
1886
State
1870
1880
1886
North Dakota
2
70
189
Montana
117
622
1 050
South Dakota ..
40
136
439
Idaho
50
193
220
Nebraska
159
1,000
1,712
Utah
135
136
215
Kansas
571
1,247
2,434
Nevada
72
220
238
Oklahoma
150
552
580
California
1 001
916
1 258
Texas
4 600
4 932
8 587
Oregon
374
631
628
New Mexico . . .
158
545
1,065
Washington
106
207
269
30
142
502
Colorado
271
809
1,356
Total
7,907
12 881
21 699
Wyoming
71
623
857
Tentative revisions of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics.
119
120 THE WESTERN RANGE
Because such immense numbers could not be run on the range
without cattle of different ownerships intermingling, the managers
mutually agreed to honor each other's "range rights." These
"rights", for the most part, had no legal status but were respected
for many years; and when smaller operators and settlers began to
push in, the large outfits often used extra-legal pressure to preserve
the monopoly they had enjoyed under these illicit "range rights."
Original outfits with only a few hundred cattle were accepted as
part of the country, but after 1883 whenever newcomers tried to
enter what the established residents regarded as fully occupied range
they were practically frozen out by the resident stockmen, who re-
fused to cooperate at round-ups and other group efforts (98) .
GENESIS OF THE BOOM
The buffalo, deer, elk, mountain sheep, antelope, and other forms
of wildlife, large and small, that were the first users of the range
had little or no discernible effect upon it in terms of depletion.
Heavy use by vast roaming or migrating herds of buffalo was com-
mon, and around strategic watering places, salt licks, and on favorite
breeding grounds range forage would be so fully grazed that little
or no feed remained. Yet in every instance seasonal migrations of
the herds permitted recovery of the vegetation between grazing
periods.
In all other instances of temporary exhaustion of the range re-
source, such as overuse by huge colonies of prairie dogs (88) , or utter
destruction of forage by locusts (172), or crickets (H), sufficient
periods of recuperation occurred to maintain the productive power
of the original range. No evidence remains to us from those times
of such persistent overuse as came when the white man began to
pasture his cattle year after year on the same range, without afford-
ing any opportunity for restoring plant vigor.
The Spanish brought to their settlements in Cuba, Florida, and
Mexico ancestors of the livestock destined to use much of these
ranges. Stock have grazed intermittently on the southern plains
since 1540 when Coronado there sought the Seven Cities of Cibola,
taking with him 1,000 horses, 500 cattle, and 5,000 sheep. The pe-
riod of continuous grazing began about 1700. At this time, Father
Kino, a Jesuit missionary, was very active in promoting livestock
raising among the missions in southern Arizona (70).
Missions established in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona between
1670 and 1690, became livestock centers soon after 1700. It seems
likely that from 40,000 to 50,000 sheep and 10,000 to 20,000 cattle
were brought to Texas during the mission period. The more settled
Indians of New Mexico and Arizona fostered sheep and ponies. The
latter proved well adapted to range grazing, became prized Indian
property, and multiplied so rapidly and were so widely distributed
that by 1805 Lewis and Clark found 700 Spanish ponies at one small
village of Shoshone Indians in northern Idaho (57) .
California missions, established between 1769 and 1800, so pros-
pered under the guidance of the padres that in 1834, when the 21
missions were taken from the church, they had 423,000 cattle, 61,600
horses, and 321,500 sheep, goats, and swine (58) . Range use must
HISTORY OF RANGE USE 121
have been of major consequence at San Luis Rey where 80,000 cattle,
10,000 horses, and 100,000 sheep, goats, and swine grazed.
Texas proved to be especially well suited for cattle. In 1821 the
Mexican Government contracted with Moses Austin to bring settlers
into Texas, and many came, enticed by liberal tracts of land ; and the
success of Austin's colonization scheme then brought a host of re-
quests for similar grants (100). In 1830 further American immi-
gration was prohibited, but already about 20,000 Americans were
there whose attention to cattle growing, together with the mild cli-
mate, so favored cattle that the stock multiplied to 100,000 in 1830 ;
to 330,000 in 1850; and to 3,533,000 in 1860 (70).
With the Civil War came the first large cattle shipments from
Texas to the Confederate Army. Despite the restraining influence
of the northern blockade, the consequent stagnation, and the fall of
prices to $3 or $4 a head, ideal range conditions favored still further
increase, and made Texas a hive of cattle ready to swarm forth at
the first opportunity. This came after the war, when currency in-
flation and rising prices in northern manufacturing centers, together
with a decrease of 7 percent in total cattle in the United States,
brought market offerings of $40 to $60 for beef steers (98) .
The railroads in Missouri, central Kansas, and Nebraska offered
outlets for these crowded Texas herds. In 1866, real drives to
Sedalia and Abilene began, and in 1867 when the demand and prices
were up, more than 1,000 cars left Abilene. Actual demands reached
such a volume in 1871 that 600,000 cattle were driven northward to
the railroad in that year. The heavy range use in western Kansas
and Nebraska that began with these drives never ceased until the
grass was plowed under, although dropping prices decreased the
profits and hence the number of drives. By 1885 a total of more
than 5 million cattle had been driven northward from Texas (98) .
In a few years, however, fences began to be built, settlement was
well under way, and railroads were extended into the arid region.
Advance of main and branch railroads into the range country
brought the market to nearby railheads. Drives were no longer
necessary and, as the use of barbed wire for fencing cattle away
from farms and towns became general, they were discontinued en-
tirely in 1885. Intense range use was encouraged by the railroads,
and by 1890 had been extended with their help to every nook and
corner of the region.
Meanwhile the Mormons filled the Utah ranges with foundation
stock which they themselves drove across the Plains, and with lean
cattle and horses obtained by trading with other emigrants. By
about 1880 the ranges in northern and central Utah were occupied
with 160,000 Shorthorns, Devons, and Herefords (11).
With the discovery of gold in the E-ocky Mountains during the
sixties, cattle were taken rom Utah and California into Colorado,
Montana, Idaho, and Nevada. The strong markets of the late
seventies and early eighties carried grazing onto most of the accessi-
ble ranges in the mountain region. Here, however, development
of the country was slower and more substantial, since it came in
connection with homes and farms. Wild hay and irrigated alfalfa
produced abundantly and from the first lent stability to range use
on a community basis.
122 THE WESTERN RANGE
The tremendous growth in range cattle, however, carried with it
a weakness that in the end proved fatal. It was based on a hus-
bandry transplanted from Mexico, which brought to English-speak-
ing people for the first time in history the practice of rearing cattle
in great droves without fences, corrals, or feed. The lariat, the
type of saddle, chaps, and the sombrero came along with the manner
of conducting the business. The very newness of it all as well as the
immensity of the outfits left the Americans without guide or stand-
ard by which to gage either the security of the cattle as they roamed
at large or the ability of the forages to stand up under continual
intense utilization. It is little wonder, therefore, that cattle instead
of grass came to be regarded as the raw resource and that the neg-
lected forages began to give way before the heavy and unmanaged
use to which they were subjected.
This almost explosive expansion of cattle grazing was based on
a great natural resource which the stockmen obtained with little
cost. Grass was the magnet and living bonanza that irresistibly
drew cattle and cattlemen to this range El Dorado.
Like the El Dorados of precious metals, the discovery of the grass
bonanza fired the imagination of cowboys, lawyers, farmers, mer-
chants, laborers, and bankers, who rushed in to seek their fortunes,
the poor by personal effort and the rich by investment. Both eastern
and Old World capital, the latter largely from England and Scot-
land, fevered through the expectation of profit of 25, 33, or 40 per-
cent. A large promotion literature flourished, including such widely
circulated books as Brisbin's Beef Bonanza. After presenting several
actual cases, Brisbin showed on paper how $25,000 would in 6 years
pay all expenses and leave a fortune of $51,278. Estimated For-
tunes and Millions in Beef are significant chapter headings (&/).
Since a boom was in progress, the stories were believed. Swan, of
the Swan Land & Cattle Co., promoted in Scotland the corporation
with the capitalization of $3,000,000 already mentioned, and later
increased this to $3,750,000 and paid a few dividends from the
capital (98). Some companies really did make money for a while,
but lax methods accompanied this "easy" money. Cattle were bought
on "book" count, and newly purchased cattle were seldom counted.
Purchase prices soared^ because purchasers bid against each other,
and because of the buying of breeding stock whose offspring started
other breeding herds, most of which never went to a consumer market
but accumulated as capital inventory until the collapse of 1886.
THE COLLAPSE OF THE BOOM
The expectation of fortunes to be made in a few years led to
gambling in futures and caused overexpansion both in investments
and in range use. In this process the accumulated forage of several
years was mined, overuse taking not only the current growth but
sapping as well the vigor of the forage plants. The better stock-
men recognized the danger (98, 1S8), but warnings in a minor key
during a boom get no hearing, and exploitation raced on.
This constant drain, without allowing any chance for recupera-
tion, caused the forage "mine" to peter out. In 1898 Bentley (16)
reported that some stockmen considered that in parts of Texas "the
injury has gone almost past the point where redemption is pos-
HISTOKY OF EANGE USE 123
sible." Ranges that should have carried a cow on every 40 acres had
one on every 10 acres.
While this dangerous process of depleting the ranges by overuse
and by too early and too continuous grazing was going on, scarcely
anybody was making provision for supplementary feeding or for
setting aside winter ranges. Neglect of cattle diseases, too, made
the risks still higher. All business was conducted on the basis of
open winters, notwithstanding the fact that Shorthorns brought
from the farms of the East and Texas stock arriving in late season
did not go through the first winter safely. Investors, believing
implicitly in the security of their capital, did not realize they were
"betting against God Almighty and a sub-Arctic winter" (98).
Whole fortunes, either owned or borrowed, and speculative loans
of millions each were all staked on cattle. With no source of income
save cattle, the stakes were high and the risks breath-taking; but
since it was a boom, men were irrational. The waste, too, was ex-
hausting ; cowboys, fully employed only a few weeks at roundup and
branding, lived during the winters mostly at the expense of the
ranch owners.
And just at this point nature spun a "double blank" and collected
the stake. The winter of 1885-86 was severe from Kansas south-
ward to Texas and New Mexico. Osgood says 85 percent of the
cattle were killed in some areas. In the north the summer of 1886
was hot and dry, grass was short, and cattle were forced on the
market at reduced prices. In November an Arctic winter set in;
snow was deep; blizzard followed blizzard; the chinook was fol-
lowed at once with snow. Young stock fresh from the East and from
Texas died in great droves, with a mortality of 40 to 60 percent (40).
Ranges were so closely cropped that cattle losses would have been
heavy in a mild winter, but with severe cold and deep snow, the lack
of feed was economically fatal to many stockmen, especially to the
speculatively financed corporations. The somewhat inaccurately re-
corded numbers of assessed cattle in Montana decreased from 663,716
in 1886 to 471,171 in 1887; in Wyoming from nearly 900,000 in 1886
to just over 750,000 in 1887. Financial confidence, which started to
wane in 1885, was almost completely lost, and the winter of 1886-87
gave a body blow to the beef bonanza. When the depression caused
loans to be called, credit liquidation brought forced sales and
bankruptcy.
Starvation of cattle followed severe droughts in the Southwest
in 1886 (75) ? in Colorado in 1888-90, in the Plains and Southwest
in 1893-94; in the Coast States in 1898-99, and from Montana to
Arizona and New Mexico in 1901-4.
RECOVERY STRIVING FOR SECURITY ON THE CATTLE RANGE
So weak had the boom structure been and so severe the shock of
its fall that only a wreck of the range-cattle industry remained.
Range use had been so concentrated and relentless that the best
coulees were hopelessly trampled, and the back slopes weakened in
productive power. Herds were broken and scattered; confidence
was wiped out; and forced sales for liquidation of debts pressed
down the already broken prices. Cattle which were worth $9.35
124 THE WESTERN RANGE
per hundredweight in 1882 at Chicago brought $1 in 1887 (19).
Naturally, the outfits supported by foreign capital, without the
personal care of a vitally interested owner, suffered most ; the "cattle
barons and bovine kings faded out of public interest." On the other
hand, those to whom cattle raising had been more than a wild
adventure for big stakes fared best.
While the range was used recklessly by most ranchers, the neces-
sity for providing a dependable forage supply was felt, even before
the ruinous winter of 1886-87, by a few stockmen who had pur-
chased land in an effort to prevent summer use of range suitable
for winter grazing (98). Others, realizing that controlled ranges
had advantages, were willing to relinquish their "rights" and per-
suaded the national convention of Cattle Growers to recommend
Federal leases on the public range (33). Before the boom, in 1881,
stockmen of both Montana and Wyoming fought against enacting
the law suggested by Powell for enlarged "arid homesteads", and
urged that all proposals to lease land be rejected ; but after the boom
they felt Differently about the situation (107, 176).
No action on this recommendation was taken by the Federal Gov-
ernment and the cattlemen then attempted to acquire ownership of
as much land as possible. Cowboys were hired to enter land and
for a small sum turn it over to their employer. Lands along streams
where cattle could water and where wild hay could be grown were
acquired first, and later more and more upland range (98) .
Windmills, which came to be widely used for pumping water to
range at a distance from streams, added another expense, but it was
evident that adequate forage must be assured. Cattle yards and
loading and sorting chutes were erected. Also ownership of land
was accompanied by higher grades of livestock; purebred bulls
(Shorthorns at first, but after 1887 Herefords, which had proved
more hardy and also earlier in maturing) were introduced (118).
This use of better stock was in turn accompanied by the use of
shelters; death by starvation or by exposure of a Texas cow worth
a few dollars had not been serious, but that of a $200 or a $300 bull
was avoided by providing shelter and feed, and thus the combina-
tion of hard winter and market collapse changed the range-cattle
industry from an adventure into a business.
From this point on, the history of the range is largely the story
of the struggle between the big owner and the little owner, with
the cattle "rustler" as an unrecognized but inevitable ally of the
small owner. The Wyoming Stock Growers' Association was strong
enough to blacklist cow hands who had herds of their own, and even
certain of its own members, but a rustler on trial often had an
accomplice or several sympathizers on the jury. Since convictions
were impossible in these cases and the association was strong, a lariat
on a cotton wood brought swift justice. Although the association
unduly prolonged its "vigilante" efforts after legal justice was pro-
vided, it cannot be denied that it did much to put down cattle
rustling, and kindred practices.
The land homesteaded by cowboys to add to the big ranch was in
many cases so located along the streams as to prevent another stock-
man's cattle from drinking. Larger outfits sometimes in this way
covered all the water courses in the vicinity and by entering a few
HISTORY OF RANGE USE 125
quarter sections they obtained control of many thousands, some-
times hundreds of thousands, of acres of Federal land (180). Agree-
ments among the big stockmen not to cooperate with newcomers in
round-ups and other group activities, in a concerted effort to squeeze
them out, aroused resentment.
Affairs gradually assumed a state of social warfare, culminating
in 1892 in the "Johnson County war", when the association under-
took to punish the residents of Buffalo, Wyo., for "harboring and
abetting suspected rustlers." Several men were killed; the Army
Eeserves were called out; and arrests of well-known cattlemen fol-
lowed. Although the matter was hushed up, the big stockman's
range monopoly was effectively broken; law and justice were here-
after applied with some show of impartiality to operators of small
and large outfits (98).
After this, contention decreased and progress in peaceful settlement
made headway. The industry was not, however, to ride an even keel,
for cattle values which had reached another crest in 1898 tumbled so
rapidly that in 1905 they were only a little over half the 1898 figure.
After this there was a slow recovery until the European war again
brought high meat demands and soaring prices.
INCREASE IN SHEEP ACCENTUATED BITTER STRUGGLE FOR RANGE
Just when security in the ownership of cattle was becoming estab-
lished and the West was being taught the necessity of welding land
to livestock to insure dependable forage supplies and range use, a
tremendous and rapid increase in sheep again stirred up the struggle
for range.
Sheep numbers quickly rose from a comparatively small figure to
veritable hordes. This increase came at different times in different
States, but maximum numbers were reached in most States between
1880 and 1910. In California the gold boom brought an increase
from about 1 million in 1859 to 4.1 million sheep in 1870 and 6.9 million
in 1880. New Mexico sheep reached their peak number in 1882 with
5.2 million and Texas an early peak in 1884 with 5.7 million. From a
few hundred thousand in the early eighties the sheep in Utah in-
creased to nearly 2.9 million in 1901, in Idaho to about 2.6 million in
1903, in Montana to 5.7 million in 1903, and in Wyoming to 6 million
in 1909.
Vast numbers of sheep appearing almost without warning on fully
used cattle ranges not only aroused a deep resentment but had a dire
effect in causing even further exhaustion of the range forage. Com-
pact herds left the range plants shaved to the ground and the soil
exposed to wind and water erosion (185). Also sheep were crowded
right up to ranches and settlements, and since cattle fences did not
keep out sheep, sometimes even hay fields were invaded. Even more
destructive of range than the ordinary wool herds were the bands of
wethers, which could outdistance ewe herds in the race for feed.
Cattlemen resorted to force in many localities, sometimes scatter-
ing bands of sheep, sometimes driving them over precipices, and in
some places setting up dead lines that sheepmen were warned not
to cross. But herders and owners of sheep were robust frontiersmen,
and sometimes when a particularly aggressive herder was threatened
126 THE WESTERN RANGE
firearms were used, and the cattle-sheep feuds waxed hot. Through-
out the West there were many such feuds, some of which resulted in
as many as 30 deaths (1%) , and only after both cattlemen and sheep-
men were convinced by the community that violence brought retribu-
tion to both contestants did the feuds cease.
The outcome of such a relentless contest for range was complete
utilization of forage; the only way to prevent another outfit from
obtaining a given range was to strip it utterly naked. To make con-
ditions still worse, this plant spoilage struck at the very foundation
of the range resource by furthering the loss of the most productive
soil the friable, humus-bearing surface layer.
After 15 or 20 years of such exhausting range use the better forage
plants succumbed on great blocks of range ; in other areas their vigor
was so reduced that growth was dwarfed and belated until there was
little top growth and no seed crop (115).
Depleted and restricted ranges, with the resulting increased expenses,
skimmed off most of the profit (133). Wool prices dropped during
the early nineties and again just after 1910 (36). Sheep, therefore,
declined during the nineties in California and Texas, during 1901-5
in Utah, and during 1910-20 in some of the other States, but in 1920-29
there was a rather large increase in several of the Mountain States.
The decreased value of wool and the rising demand for lambs
brought about a marked reduction in wethers and consequently elimi-
nated the worst form of range use. After 1915 herds consisted largely
of ewe-breeding stock ; when 3 or 4 months old all the wether lambs
and half the ewe lambs were sold (133).
The market-lamb industry, with its heavy investment in good breed-
ing herds, and the range-use difficulties forced the sheepmen to seek
sure feed. Shortly after 1900 national-forest permits began to assist
greatly ; some private land was leased and some was purchased (133) .
The sheep industry then took on two distinct aspects: (1) Market
lambs as a major product, supported by heavy investments in land
and facilities; and (2) wool and range lambs combined, with a small
investment. Though use of range on the national forests hastened
the combining of the land with sheep, this was a phase of the evolu-
tion of the industry and would have come about in any case.
Two results thus arose from the use of owned land: (1) Transient,
nomadic outfits decreased in number ; (2) range use was in part lim-
ited to the grazing of a definite area, supplemented by feed from
cultivated land.
In Texas, in the Southwestern States, and in Oregon the problems
of sheep grazing were further complicated by the increase in Angora
goats. The first importation came from Turkey in 1849, and another
in 1860 (109). Increase was at first slow, but about 1910 it took on
real proportions. Texas had 248,000 goats in 1898, 1.7 million in
1909, 2.2 million in 1922, and more than 3.2 million in 1930 (1).
On Edwards Plateau in Texas, the area of greatest concentration,
cattle and sheep were grazed in fenced range pastures before goats
came in. At first it was thought that goats might benefit a range by
holding brush in check, but in time the better forages decreased and
the poisonous bitter rubberweed increased.
Goats are run in smaller numbers in New Mexico, Arizona, Cali-
fornia, Utah, and Oregon, where they graze on rough, brushy areas;
HISTORY OF RANGE USE 127
but when herded closely, often by alien owners, they have in many
cases stripped the range of nearly all vegetation. Such forage deple-
tion does not occur, however, when the goats are handled in open
herds on properly stocked ranges.
The increase in sheep and goats was in part compensated for by
a decrease in horses. Indians and settlers had numerous ponies,
which, along with the bands of wild ponies, constituted a major
range use until about 1908, when stockmen and settlers began round-
ing them up and shipping them out (60). Shooting wild ponies also
was a regular practice on some ranges. The reduction of farm horses
by motorization has decreased range use by horses still more. How-
ever, the gain by the decrease of horses was not nearly equal to the
increased demand by sheep and goats.
SETTLEMENT INTENSIFIES TENDENCY TO RANGE DEPLETION
Settlement, which sometimes preceded and sometimes followed the
influx of sheep into a locality, markedly intensified the severity of
range use. Encouraged by land booms, by high prices for cereals,
by railroads, and by a few favorable seasons, crop-growing was
pushed far beyond the line safe for tillage (94). Believing that
cultivation brought increased rainfall and encouraged by a few years
with more than average rain, the settlers turned good short-grass
range wrong side up and ruined it for grazing.
Crop growing became successful on part of this land, but the
venture often failed in the long run unless irrigation was practiced.
A few inches below the surface of most soils was a hardpan largely
impervious to plant roots, and the soil above was not deep enough
to hold much moisture (178). Nevertheless, these precarious lands
were oversettled, only to be abandoned in a few years. In western
Kansas there was a succession of such waves of settlement a genera-
tion apart.
The most productive range lands were ripped up for wheat or
corn, thereby decreasing both the acreage and the acre-yield of
forage. Between 1880 and 1899, 104 million acres were taken for
crop growing, largely on the Plains. Settlement served both as means
of reducing range and also as a means of producing hay and cereals
which tended to furnish a more stable feed supply. As the range
area decreased, range use by resident stockmen was concentrated on
the unplowed area with resulting overutilization, a condition accentu-
ated by the settlers' farm stock.
In the mountain region settlement took place almost entirely on
"spring-fall" range, already the least adequate of the three seasonal
ranges. Livestock were crowded upward into the lower edge of
summer range on the one hand and out to the winter ranges on the
other (133). Use of the summer range at the wrong season did great
injury by exposing the best forages to too early grazing, and the
winter range, with only a sparse plant cover, suffered from being
grazed in the fall and spring periods of recuperation.
Not all settlement influences, however, were harmful to the range.
Irrigation to increase forage production is the natural complement
of grazing in an arid region. Alfalfa growing began in the fifties
in California, whence it spread eastward to Utah before 1860 and
128 THE WESTERN BANGE
from there to Colorado about 1185 and to Montana about 1890. By
1909 more than 6,000,000 tons of alfalfa hay were produced in the
range States, much of which was used to supplement range forage.
Only 1 to 2 percent of the land area was growing alfalfa, but the
yields were 5 to 10 times as great as those from native forages.
Moreover, alfalfa hay was unusually rich in proteins and minerals,
and thus made an unexcelled feed supplement for grazing stock
(136). Stubble fields and irrigated pastures made the handling of
livestock more convenient and strengthened the animals by furnish-
ing a variety and abundance of feed for a few days or weeks as the
animals moved from one seasonal range to another. Stockmen could
depend on a definite food reserve to tide their animals over emer-
gency periods of food shortage such as are occasioned by severe
winters or by prolonged drought.
The practice of feeding hay and grain to livestock increased
rapidly in the Plains States after the severe winter of 1886-87, and in
the Southwest after the drought of 1891-94. The total supplemental
feeds, including irrigated pasturage, furnished to livestock increased
in the range part of the Plains States from 5 percent of total forage
eaten in 1890 to 17 percent in 1910 ; in the 11 far-western range States
such feeds increased from 12 percent in 1890 to 40 percent in 1910.
In 1935 these feeds constituted 29 percent of the total forage in the
Plains States and 43 percent in the 11 Western States. Such rapid
increase in the practice of feeding grew out of heavy winter and
drought losses which resulted in part from the depleted ranges and
in part from the absence of any provision for suitable reserve range
for use in winter or during dry periods. Breeding and other animal
husbandry practices brought great incentives for feeding the more
valuable animals. The small area of many ranches also tended to
favor feeding as opposed to grazing.
As a result of the limited areas of land that could be taken by
homesteading, varying from 160 to 640 acres, most settlers who be-
came stockmen obtained holdings much too small and frequently too
nearly submarginal for family support. The more fortunate ones
were able to purchase more land, but the great majority struggled
along with one homestead and whatever public range they could
salvage, which early became very limited and consequently seriously
overgrazed. This vast number of too-small holdings was concen-
trated near larger irrigation projects, where the high cost of irriga-
tion water and of preparing the land for irrigation frequently limited
the size of such farms to 20 to 80 acres, too small an acreage to permit
much farm pasturage.
One of the worst phases of the settlement of the better range land
by small ranchers and farmers was the bitter struggle over land use
which it engendered. Corporate livestock outfits sometimes obtained
legitimate ownership control of streams and springs, but more often,
as we have seen, they depended on intimidating the settler who came
with just enough capital to make a humble beginning. Soon the set-
tlers entered land along the streams inside illegal enclosures. The
cropper fenced his grain field and garden, turned his animals out to
graze, dug a canal, and put in a diversion dam. One day his cattle
disappeared, his fences were cut, the canal broken, or the dam demol-
ished. Suspecting the stockmen, he retaliated by killing or driving
away cattle or by cutting the drift fence.
HISTORY OF RANGE USE 129
When sneep outfits crowded in upon the isolated settlers or upon
a small irrigated community, the sheep seldom left much forage for
domestic farm stock, making it necessary to feed teams and milk
cows the entire year or else provide irrigated pasturage. This the
settlers considered decidedly unfair (94) This three-cornered fight
among cattlemen, settlers, and sheepmen was a complex pattern of
bitter feelings, especially when a huge incorporated stock outfit was
involved. Worst of all, it put a premium on forestalling another
outfit, and stripping a neighborhood nearly bare of forage in order
to keep out a competing user.
This competition led to increased operating expenses and to in-
vestment expenditures the purpose of which reached beyond forage
management. Heavy investments in land, buildings, fences, water
developments, and miscellaneous supplies were made to provide
shelter, feed reserves, pasturage, and better grades of livestock.
However, little or nothing was spent for management of ranges, a
phase in urgent need of improvement.
The serious effects of poor range management were increased in
many sections by fires, particularly in California, where forest and
brush fires have played an important part in molding and shaping
the vegetation. Historic evidence and the reconstructed story
through fire-scarred tissue on century-old trees indicate that fires
frequently swept forest and foothills alike. But the damage caused
by these presettlement fires was less serious because nature in her
own way slowly started anew the process of rehabilitation and build-
ing back to climax vegetation. Once civilized men entered into the
picture, fires increased in number and restoration was indefinitely
retarded. The miner, the early sheepman, and the careless traveler
all contributed annually to the inevitable smoky skies and burned
forests (128, IJfi). The net result was the extension of vast areas
of chaparral, chamiso, and other brush areas of lowest forage
values, replacing on the upper elevation coniferous forests and on
the lower levels the more open parklike woodland and savanna types.
In this process grass and herbs were replaced by undesirable woody
shrubs, which in repeated fires of the timber type produced forage
for a short period, followed in a few years by impenetrable thickets
of manzanita and ceanothus. On areas where fires were used freely
and where overgrazing followed, perennial grasses frequently were
replaced by a host of "immigrant" annuals from the Mediterranean
region of much lower forage value.
ESTABLISHMENT or PUBLIC-LAND CONTROL A STABILIZING FACTOR
The creation of the national forests, on which are grazed 12
percent of all the cattle and 23 percent of all the sheep in the West,
greatly stabilized range use and livestock production. An effort was
made to administer grazing on the national forests for the benefit
both of the permanent stockmen and of the adjacent agricultural
communities. Having a definite range allotment with 3 to 5 months
of dependable summer feed of high quality helped the stockmen to
make the adjustments necessary to supply feed for the remainder of
the year.
6494636 10
130 THE WESTERN RANGE
Prior to 1930 some organized attention was given to the principles
of range management on northern Indian lands. In 1930 responsi-
bility for the supervision of all grazing was delegated to the forestry
branch of the Indian Service, and a distinct forward step was taken
by inaugurating a plan of management similar to that developed on
the national forests.
The Taylor Grazing Act of 1934 provided authority to administer
80 million acres, or about half the public domain, and made possible
a step toward the management of the grazing on these lands.
Recently wildlife and game management have come to the front
in the national forests as problems to be correlated with grazing.
Recreation, both on national forests and on national parks, has also
increased greatly in importance since automobiles came into general
use. The parks, as reservoirs for wildlife, have become much better
known than formerly. Under the previous near absence of control,
game and other wildlife in the country as a whole decreased to small
populations, whereas under the unplanned protection used in the
West from about 1915 until recently game became so congested in
some areas as to require serious attention. It is likely that use of
the range by game will increase in many places, but under good man-
agement it need not conflict in an important way with livestock
grazing.
Both game and recreation have such high public values that they
will undoubtedly receive preference in the use of small areas of
range land especially suited for these purposes.
WORLD WAR BOOM AND POST- WAR DEPRESSION BRING HEAVY
DEMANDS ON RANGE
The participation of the United States in the World War again
intensified range use by bringing about a great increase in numbers
of livestock, stimulated by rising prices and by war demands for
increased food production (66). In 1918-19, the number of animal
units in the Nation was the highest ever attained (18) , and by 1920 a
great potential meat surplus had been built up. This important in-
crease in numbers of livestock had the effect of speeding up
depletion.
The additional stocking, together with dry seasons, proved a heavy
blow to the program of range management on national forests. The
national-forest administration responded to these urgent national de-
mands and in 1918 allowed 1,063,000 extra animals to graze on the
forests, receiving them earlier in spring and keeping them later in
the fall (60). Justification for it lay in the fact that, although the
ranges were being depleted, it was difficult to supply the meat de-
mands of the war period. In addition there was the desire of stock-
men to benefit by the high war prices. In places the damage done
to the national-forest ranges has not as yet been fully repaired.
Also between 1910 and 1929, but mostly after 1915, some 50 mil-
lion acres of range land, largely on the Great Plains, was plowed up
for dry farming by a horde of new farmers. Later many of these
farms were abandoned.
During the World War and in the post-war inflation period, as in
the boom of 1883, the easy credit available led to overborrowing.
HISTORY OF RANGE USE 131
Owners were making so much paper profit that overinvestment in
livestock, land, and improvements resulted. From March 1920,
scoured wool dropped from $2.05 a pound to 26 cents in August 1921,
and as a result sheepmen lost heavily by liquidation and foreclosure
(133). Wool and sheep prices recovered markedly during 1922 and
1923, but cattle prices on the Chicago market dropped from more
than $21 a hundredweight in 1919 to just more than $9 in 1921 and
1926, entailing a long period of deflation in cattle values and heavy
losses during liquidation of assets. Afterward, along with other in-
dustries, all livestock prices rose sharply to the 1929 crest.
In 1930, the mortgage debt was 35 percent of the total value of
outfits, and this percentage mounted rapidly during the depression,
owing to shrinkage in land and other values (7). As in other in-
dustries mortgages were often larger than the current value of prop-
erty. "Paper" on livestock was also extremely prevalent, practically
all outfits being heavily mortgaged in order to buy feeds during the
drought. Inability to pay brought an increase in delinquencies and
foreclosures. In 1932 the eleventh district of the Federal Land Bank
alone had taken over 706 farms, valued at more than $3,500,000, de-
spite the fact that banks were trying to avoid foreclosure on farms
and ranches.
The break in livestock prices prevented disposal of livestock at a
price that even approached production costs. With lambs and ewes
bringing only a dollar a head in many range localities, and with no
market at all in many others, sheep numbers greatly increased. A
similar condition prevailed in the cattle industry. In spite of the
increased numbers of livestock on the range, much less supplemental
feed was purchased than in ordinary times, and forage yields reduced
by drought were woefully inadequate to the demand for range feed.
DROUGHT ADDED TO EXCESS STOCKING WORKS HAVOC ON RANGE
The drought of 1930-35, culminating a 10- to 15-year dry period,
has given another tremendous setback to range forage production,
already reduced as a result of previous long, severe, and nearly
unrestricted use. The heavy load imposed by World War increases
in range livestock had barely begun to lighten, when the slump in
livestock prices and the drought combined to increase use and reuuce
forage production (66).
Throughout the whole history of range use the forage has been
heavily used and at intervals severely so. The livestock industry
at times has been badly shaken. Always, however, the industry has
been able to go on, in part because of the remarkable ability of the
range to recover at least a part of the values lost.
In spite of heavy use over a period of many years, the range has
not been destroyed, although it has been greatly weakened. With
normal precipitation, growth was increased and the splendid sod
grasses at least partly refilled the bare spots. Where the grasses
were killed, the ground was occupied by other plants which, though
of lesser palatability and smaller forage value, the animals still ate.
The recuperative powers of the better ranges are so high that their
capacity to support livestock has on the whole decreased slowly.
132 THE WESTERN RANGE
The livestock industry also has shown a great power of resilience.
After each shock of depletion, drought, or depression, new feed sup-
plies have been found, at first by seeking new ranges, but later by
growing hay and other forages and by supplementing range forage
with grain, cottonseed meal, and other concentrates. Improved
breeding of livestock and other adjusted production practices also
helped to offset the increased feeding and other management costs.
In spite of range depletion, the livestock industry has managed to
survive, though usually loaded with increasing expenses.
ISSUES GROWING OUT OF RANGE-USE HISTORY
The history of range occupancy and settlement as summarized in
the previous pages indicates five issues that require earnest con-
sideration.
DROUGHTS
History records disastrous droughts in 1886 in the Southwest;
in 1888-90 in Colorado; in 1893-94 in the Plains and Southwest;
in 1898-99 on the Pacific Coast ; in 1903-4 from Montana to Arizona ;
in 1917-18 in the Southwest ; in 1923-24 in the Southwest and Idaho ;
and in 1930^-35 practically all over the range country. Although
this record is not complete, it shows that intermittent drought is an
inseparable problem of the range country. Since it can be neither
avoided nor prevented it must be foreseen, perhaps predicted, and
at all events provided for. Although determining the most feasible
economic method of doing these things is no small undertaking, it is
one that must be attempted.
DEPLETION
As already seen, depletion of the range forage began to be of
major consequence during the boom of the eighties. Between 1890
and 1910 sheep and cattle exhausted the vigor of forage by repeated
close cropping, and oversettlement trimmed away great blocks of
the best range. While the conflict between large and small operators,
between cattlemen and sheepmen, and between settlers and stockmen
for possession of the range intensified its use in no small degree,
depletion, literally everywhere present, weakened the position of the
livestock industry. On top of this came the immense increase in
animals in the war years and the debilitating effect of protracted
drought, bringing stockmen to the verge of despair. History indi-
cates that the current of depletion, which still runs strong, will con-
tinue to do so as long as present conditions are allowed to exist.
With large areas 50 percent and some others 75 percent depleted,
it is not too much to predict that the range will become almost
destitute of forage unless a determined, unrelenting effort at restora-
tion is begun at once.
NEED FOR BASIC TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE
The history of range use is in part a story of failure to conserve
forage supplies ; to restore depleted ranges ; to plan land use ; to pre-
HISTORY OF RANGE USE 133
pare for drought; and to avert the effects of depression. There is
an obvious need for gathering and applying new knowledge on
which to base an effort to solve these problems.
TOO-SMALL RANCH UNITS
History has also disclosed the part that subdivision of land in
ill-advised efforts to encourage settlement of unsuitable or too lim-
ited farm and range units has played in range depletion. These
past errors in land use are not repaired by mere abandonment of
farms. Further, they are thwarting efforts at progress in land plan-
ning and now rise up to plague us as problems in submarginal lands
and in the resettlement of population. Some means must be sought
of repairing past errors and of avoiding those likely to arise in the
future.
CYCLES OF BOOM AND DEPRESSION
Stockmen have repeatedly been at the mercy of drastic price fluc-
tuations. Breeding herds bought at high prices during a boom
have led to a surplus of cattle and sheep which has accentuated the
price decline after the peak (177), sometimes lowering it to a third
of the boom value. At five different periods, the forced sale of cat-
tJe on a shrinking market made prices per head out of all propor-
tion to costs built up largely in a period of high prices, causing debts
incurred during the up-phase of the price cycle to be a double or a
triple burden. The Farm Credit Administration has worked on a
solution of the credit phase of this recurring difficulty.
Each of these unfavorable consequences of range use is presented
in detail in this chapter.
CLIMATIC FLUCTUATIONS
By R. S. CAMPBELL, Senior Forest Ecologist, Division of Range Research
The hardships of the great 1934 drought were too severe to leave
any doubt that extreme climatic fluctuations contribute greatly to
range depletion. Forage production on ranges was so scant in 1934
that wholesale removal of livestock was necessary in parts or all of
nearly every Western State. Where the drought prevailed, range
vegetation simply failed to produce sufficient feed to support the
numbers of livestock being grazed. Tall grasses in Nebraska (179),
grama grasses in Montana and New Mexico, and bunchgrasses in
California, in the drought areas, either failed to grow or dried up
early in the season.
The 1934 drought emphasized the dependence of range vegetation
and its forage production upon climate, especially rainfall. It also
forcibly demonstrated the natural fluctuating balance between cli-
mate and vegetation, in which range plants increase in abundance
and productivity during favorable years, and decline and lose vigor
in dry years. Both wet and dry years, singly or in groups, have been
occurring ever since man has observed the weather, and vegetation
responds to them a factor beyond man's control. But more than
anything else the 1934 drought emphasized the failure of range live-
stock owners to recognize the extreme fluctuations of forage with the
climate, and to manage their ranges in such a manner as to meet
these vicissitudes. The worst depletion that occurred in 1934, and
during nearly every previous drought, was on overgrazed ranges.
So many livestock grazed the scant forage during and after the
drought that little or no vigor remained in the vegetation to start
a process of restoration that may require decades, especially where
wind and water erosion have since removed the unprotected fertile
topsoil. This is in marked contrast to the recovery of forage on
conservatively grazed ranges.
What happened in 1934 has happened before, and the cumulative
effect is no less than widespread depletion of the range resource
already outlined devastating in its immediate effects and far-
reaching in its consequences. Each time, climate has played an in-
tegral part in the depletion. It is obvious that a sound program of
management to restore and maintain the range must include an
evaluation of (1) climate and its fluctuations and (2) the influence
of such fluctuations upon range vegetation and use.
CLIMATIC FLUCTUATIONS ON WESTERN RANGES
The generally sparse vegetation on western ranges really is re-
markably abundant when one considers that the West receives
roughly about one-third as much rainfall as the eastern half of the
United States (fig. 43). A line drawn through Amarillo, Tex., and
North Platte, Nebr., both of which receive about 20 inches of rain-
135
136
THE WESTEKN RANGE
fall annually, would separate the country into two broad precipita-
tion zones (fig. 44). East of the line, the precipitation is over 20
inches and varies from about 35 inches in the Corn Belt from Iowa
to Ohio to about 50 inches in the Cotton Belt of the South (81).
West of the! line, the rainfall is less than 20 inches except in the
mountains. Over most of the range area between Kansas and Cali-
fornia it is under 15 inches. The great semidesert region extending
from southwestern Arizona to southeastern Oregon receives less than
10 inches. Precipitation in the Rocky and Sierra Nevada Mountains
averages more than 20 inches, and more than 60 inches in the Cascade
Range of Oregon and Washington.
\
NORTHERN
WESTERN
PLAINS (N/
RANGES
liles City, M
sr, Oreg.)
senix, Ariz.)
STATES
iy, N.Y.)
ont.)
''^^^^/^^
NORTHWESTERN (Bak
//////////S////////A
SOUTHWEJ
iTERN (Phc
1ASTERN
FERN (Alba
y//////////A
\
NORTHEAS
V/////////////////^^^
'//////A
\
CENTRAL (Springfield, III.)
Y////////////////^^^
'/////////A
SOUTHERN (Montgomery, Ala.)
W///////////////^
y//////////////,
////////////////A
10 20 30 40 50 60
ANNUAL PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
FIGURE 43. Western ranges are characterized by low average rainfall, as shown by this
comparison of precipitation of typical western stations with those in the East.
Temperatures over western ranges as a whole are no higher than
in the East (82). However, the combination of low precipitation,
high day temperatures, low relative humidity, high evaporation,
high winds, and high proportion of sunshine on the western plains
and semidesert lands cause plants to use the available water more
quickly.
Also, the higher temperatures in the southern half of the range
country make conditions for plant growth much more difficult there
than in the northern portions of similar rainfall zones.
SEASONAL FLUCTUATIONS
Rainstorms a mile or more wide often move across the range for a
few miles, giving one particular area a rain of perhaps a half inch
CLIMATIC FLUCTUATIONS
137
or more. A short distance away from the storm path, the soil
remains dry and the vegetation is left without water. More fre-
quently, the rain on most of the favored strip is less than 0.25 inch,
and evaporates so rapidly after the storm that plants receive only a
very temporary benefit. By the time such localized showers have
5-10 INCHES
-.10-15 INCHES
/r/31-15-20 INCHES
| [..MORE THAN 20 INCHES
FIGURE 44. There are several main precipitation zones within the western range terri-
tory. The desert and semidesert of the southwestern and intermountain regions are
especially dry.
occurred intermittently during the summer, the range has received
a greatly varying total rainfall of correspondingly uncertain ben-
efit to the forage. On the Jornada Experimental Range, an area 20
miles square in southern New Mexico, where the average summer
rainfall is 4.78 inches, Forest Service records show that actual rain-
fall during the summer of 1930 at different locations varied from 2.50
138 THE WESTERN RANGE
to 6.60 inches. Such differences, which occur even in favorable
years, necessarily cause forage growth to be spotty. For example,
the estimated forage crop in 1930 on the Jornada range was 100 per-
cent where the rainfall was average or better but only 50 percent
where rainfall was at the lowest point. Because the Jornada range
was conservatively grazed, the stand of forage was maintained in
that year even on the areas of lowest productivity; but on similar
areas of low rainfall on overgrazed ranges, depletion as high as 15
percent was observed in that one year.
Seasons vary greatly between regions within the range area. The
season of greatest precipitation in the Great Plains is spring and
summer; but in most of California it is winter, with every season
of the year bringing rain to some part of the range (81 ) , The pre-
cipitation also varies in character. In the Southwest nearly all of
the moisture comes as rain, while on the higher and more northerly
ranges, much of it is snow. Average annual snowfall at Phoenix,
Ariz., is only a trace, but at Boise, Idaho, it is 25 inches, and at Yel-
lowstone Park, Wyo., 97 inches (156) .
Temperature is important in determining the actual period of
forage production, because growing plants require warm weather in
addition to available moisture. Thus, the plant in Idaho under sev-
eral feet of snow is just as dormant as the plant in Arizona during
continued warm, dry weather.
The seasonal differences in climate between regions, and between
years within each region cause corresponding differences in the start
of plant growth and in the volume of range forage produced. Ran^e
use that allows livestock to graze the forage before it is sufficiently
developed, or that otherwise disregards these seasonal differences
contributes greatly to range deterioration. For example, the time
when bluebunch wheatgrass, an important forage species, started
growth in southeastern Idaho varied from March 20 to April 24 dur-
ing a 9-year period. A loss of 49 percent of the forage value was
caused in one experimental pasture where the vegetation was grazed
too early every year for the 9 years.
DROUGHT YEARS
The severity of drought on western ranges can be more fully
appreciated by comparison with the eastern farm belt. The lowest
annual rainfall for the State of Ohio was 26.56 inches in 1934, while
the average annual is 37.75 inches; but in Utah the lowest rainfall
recorded was 8.38 inches in 1900, while the average is 12.87 inches
(156). The worst drought ever recorded in the Corn Belt or the
Cotton Belt appears to be an abundance of rainfall when contrasted
with the average on western ranges (fig. 45). The lowest annual
rainfall at any stations throughout the West and East make an even
more striking contrast. For example, the lowest rainfall ever re-
corded at Des Moines, Iowa, was 18.24 inches in 1910, or 57 percent
of average; but at Miles City, Mont., rainfall during the 1934 drought
was only 5.51 inches, or 40 percent of average.
Drought is both severe and frequent on the western range. Using
75 percent of the average annual precipitation as an arbitrary cri-
terion of drought for the range country, more than 3 years out of
CLIMATIC FLUCTITATIONS
139
every 10 are drought years over great areas, according to calcula-
tions which include only 1933 and thus exclude the severe 1934
drought (fig. 46). The Mohave-Gila Desert has drought 4 years out
of 10j or nearly every other year, which alone labels it as the most
unreliable country for grazing in the West. The semidesert ranges
of the Southwest and Intermountain regions are only slightly less
hazardous. Certain portions of the Great Plains have drought 3
years in 10, a hazardous situation even for range use, but much more
risky for cultivated crops not as well adapted as the native vegeta-
tion to such vicissitudes.
THE MENACE IN A RECURRENCE OF DRY YEARS
The year 1934 was so severe that it focused the attention of the
entire Nation upon the disastrous consequences of drought. But few
YEAR 1900
WEST (UTAH)
p&xxxxx>&&&4
AVERAGE
YEAR 1934
52 -YEAR
AVERAGE
<
1
EAST (OHIO)
:88&^5$W$&^
5&2&^&^
1
) 10 20 30 40
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
FIGURE 45. The worst drought ever recorded in the East seems abundant moisture when
compared with even the average rainfall in the West, as shown by two representative
States.
people realize that for most of the afflicted range area, 1934 was in
reality only the culmination of a series of years, mostly below normal
(17). Kainfall records in the West show whole groups of years be-
low average, with an occasional year of unusually low rainfall and
other occasional years of high rainfall. For example, Miles City,
Mont., had a long series of years with below-average rainfall from
1880 to 1905, and again from 1917 to 1934 (fig. 47).
There is hardly a year when it is not dry somewhere in the coun-
try, but the outstanding recent periods when dry years have oc-
curred in one or more western regions include 1888 to 1890, 1892 to
1894, 1898 to 1904, 1910, 1917, 1919, 1924, and 1928 to 1934, inclusive.
According to the statements of early settlers and actual records in
recent years, most of these dry years contributed to the decline of the
140
THE WESTERN RANGE
range, and this decline was undoubtedly accentuated by overstock-
ing which did not take into account sufficiently the effect of drought
on the vegetation.
The periodic recurrence of wet and dry years suggested by avail-
able precipitation records is confirmed by the tree-ring studies of
Douglass (43) . Since trees ordinarily add a new ring of wood each
NUMBER OF DROUGHT YEARS OUT OF EACH 10 YEARS
[ | DENSE UNGRA2ED FOREST Y/////A 2 TO 3 YEARS
FIGUBB 46. DROUGHT FREQUENCY ON THE WESTERN RANGE.
The southwest and intermountain desert and semidesert ranges suffer drought (precipita-
tion 75 percent of average or less) more frequently than other regions. (Based on 35-
year averages 1899-1933, inclusive; calculations supervised by U. S. Weather Bureau.)
year, and the width of each ring corresponds to the precipitation
available that year, with an accuracy of 70 to 85 percent, the tree-
ring record gives good indication of the climate. In the case of the
sequoias of California, the data extend as far back as 1310 B. C. and
indicate cycles of 11 years. Dry years as shown by poor growth of
ponderosa pines in the area of Flagstaff, Ariz., occurred in 14r- and
21-year cycles, with major droughts about every 150 years, and minor
droughts at 40- or 50-year intervals.
CLIMATIC FLUCTUATIONS
141
Periods of poor growth in ponderosa pine forests in the Pacific
Northwest were found to vary from 3 to 14 years between 1630 and
1930 (89). With such considerable variance in the periods of dry
years, it is not possible to predict the exact rainfall for any single
year in the future, although some progress has been made in this
line (4). The outstanding fact is that dry years and the accom-
panying reductions of forage production and grazing capacity occur
with such frequency that good range management requires stocking
the range on a basis sufficiently conservative to avoid severe drought
losses or forced sales.
1875
I 885
I 895
I 905
1915
1925
1935
FIGURE 47. Dry years may occur In groups, with greatly varying precipitation even
during generally favorable periods, as shown hy actual rainfall records at Miles City,
Mont., a representative station for the range country.
PROGRESSIVE DEFICIENCIES
It is serious enough to have to plan for 3 or 4 years out of every
10 having less than average rainfall, but the longer weather cycles
are particularly disheartening and require even more careful plan-
ning of range use. For example, Forest Service compilations show
a decided downward trend in precipitation for the entire Intermoun-
tain Region since about 1908. In California there was a downward
trend of 8 inches during the 80-year period from 1850 to 1930 ($1)]
and further calculations show that the trend prevailed through 1934
(fig. 48). Such deficiencies may represent only the drier portions of
long precipitation cycles, and it is possible that the trend may turn
and continue upward for several decades. However, when progres-
sive moisture deficiencies accumulate over the active span of 2 or 3
142
THE WESTERN RANGE
generations, even the peaks of short-term cycles need to be discounted
in management plans that are to provide for avoiding excessive deple-
tion. There is little question that this long-time deficiency in Cali-
fornia has contributed to a depletion in that State of nearly 45 per-
cent on private ranges and more than 50 percent on State and public-
domain ranges.
1850 '60
'80
'90
1900
'10
'20
FIGDEB 48. A downward trend of 8 inches in precipitation has occurred in California
during the past 85 years.
CORRESPONDING FLUCTUATIONS IN RANGE VEGETATION
The density and character of vegetation in the natural state are
largely determined by climate. Even the casual observer is struck
by the sparseness of western range vegetation, which is roughly in
proportion to the rainfall zones in figure 44. A forest or pasture in
the East, seen from directly above, covers all or nearly all of the
ground. In the West, natural range vegetation covers on the aver-
age 20 to 50 percent of the ground, and less than 10 percent in the
desert areas.
The adaptability of the individual plant to fluctuating climatic
conditions, including the power of recuperation after severe loss of
vigor during drought, is probably the most striking feature of wes-
tern-range vegetation. Adjustments in the structure of plants which
adapt them to dry climate, and which result in lower or more efficient
water use, include reduced size, both of the whole plant and of the
various parts, such as stems and leaves, thorns, hairs, resin, and wax
on the stems and leaves, leaves that curl or fold, and leaves that
drop off quickly, as in most cacti.
Many range plants make very effective use of the available water.
Some of the native grasses require less than 400 pounds of water
to produce one pound of dry plant material in decided contrast
with the requirements of many cultivated crops. The water re-
quirement for alfalfa is over 800 pounds, and higher for some other
plants (126). Moreover, Forest Service experiments in central
CLIMATIC FLUCTUATIONS 143
Arizona have indicated that transpiration from native shrubs and
grasses during the summer is only 10 percent greater than evapora-
tion from bare soil.
In spite of all these unusual characteristics of range plants, how-
ever, they have decided limits of endurance. There is a rather
definite point in the drying of each kind of soil at which plants wilt,
according to Briggs and Shantz (20). Most plants in the semidesert
type wilt temporarily every afternoon during the summer.
Adequate soil moisture is determined very largely by the frequency
of effective rainfall. Many light rains are not effective in promoting
plant growth, any more than they contribute to the underground
water supply. Light rains of 0.25 inch or less, which evaporate
quickly, usually have only a very temporary benefit for the vegeta-
tion and contribute little lasting benefit to forage growth. Under
usual summer conditions with dry soil, 0.5 inch or more may be
required to start plant growth effectively. Then the growth may
be greatly curtailed or stopped during the long periods between effec-
tive rainfall. The average period between precipitation of 0.5 inch
or more was found to be 34 days at the Great Basin Experimental
Kange, a. Forest Service branch station in central Utah. Effective
rainfall is a vital consideration in sound range management because
in reality overgrazing usually allows the forage to be used too closely
between rains. Overgrazing on an experimental pasture at the
Great Basin range caused a decline of 37 percent in the stand of
grasses over a period of years, as compared to a conservatively grazed
area.
The range vegetation is in a constantly fluctuating balance with
the climate and other habitat factors such as soils and animals. The
vegetation is naturally reduced extremely during drought but, given
favorable rainfall, the range comes back after each decline unless
the natural decline during drought is so emphasized and intensified
by overgrazing as to cause a fatal or permanent decline.
Altogether, the adaptability and recuperative powers of range
plants have not been fully appreciated. Neither have range users
as a group recognized the endurance limits of range vegetation, the
variations in vigor of individual plants, and the extreme fluctuations
in forage productive capacity over the range as a whole. This fail-
ure to recognize the fundamental nature of the resource has more
than fully discounted the recuperative abilities of range forage un-
der existing climatic conditions and has been a major factor in the
range depletion outlined in other sections of this report.
RANGE FORAGE PRODUCTION DECLINES IN DRY YEARS
Forage production varies greatly from year to year. The volume
of range forage produced is actually made up of growth made by
plant parts which livestock relish and eat readily. By and large,
the grasses, especially perennials, furnish the bulk of the feed, so
that measurements of forage production are usually based mainly
upon the growth made by the existing stand of grasses. But the
stand itself fluctuates greatly. During the 1933-34 drought, 74.8
percent of the short grass plants were killed on overgrazed experi-
mental pastures in western Kansas and 64.6 percent on moder-
ately grazed areas
144
THE WESTERN RANGE
Fluctuations in height growth of key range grasses effectively
show the nature of the problem which must be faced each year in
range use. For example, height growth of Smith's wheatgrass near
Miles City, Mont., was 13 inches in 1933, 1 inch in 1934, and 15
inches in 1935, according to Forest Service measurements. Height
growth of grasses has been shown to have a close relationship to
rainfall in numerous other Forest Service experiments (93, 30, 115) .
4000
3200
.2400
o 800
Average
Forage
Product on
Conservative
Stocking
1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935
FIGURE 49. Range forage production fluctuates so greatly from year to year that con-
servative stocking must be 20 percent or more below average production to furnish
adequate forage in all but lowest years.
The variations in the height growth of grass are indeed consider-
able, but the variations in actual amounts of forage produced are
even more startling. In Forest Service studies of important forage
plants in several parts of the West, production of black grama in
southern New Mexico varied from 98.9 grams per square meter in
1926 to 1.1 grams in 1928, with no production in 1934; Rothrock's
grama in southern Arizona varied from 66.1 grams in 1927 to 6.9
grams in 1928; and mixed grasses in eastern Montana varied from
178.2 grams in 1927 to 24.9 grams in 1934. Mixed perennial grasses
in central Utah varied from 3,598 grams per square rod in 1925 to
1,276 grams in 1934, with an average production of 2,379 grams over
a 12-year period (fig. 49). It is obvious that stocking the range
on the basis of average forage production would have provided ade-
quate range feed in only 6 of the 12 years. Conservative stocking
at approximately 20 percent below the average would have provided
adequate forage in 9 years. This would have left considerable
surplus feed in some years, which in itself is a form of insurance
against inadequate range-feed production during drought.
The quantity of reserve range feed needed varies somewhat in
different regions depending in part upon the relative frequency and
severity of drought. Conservative stocking at a point 25 percent
CLIMATIC FLUCTUATIONS 145
below the average has been recommended by the Forest Service for
the semidesert grass type (31).
On a national-forest range in central Utah, where conservative
grazing has taken the forage fluctuations into account, the stand
of forage has been improved 100 to 200 percent on spring ranges,
and as much as 400 to 500 on depleted parts of the summer range,
since the range was put under management (154-, PP- 5%0-554). On
the other hand, potentially better privately owned range areas in
Ford and Parrish Canyons, subject to similar climate, but continu-
ally overgrazed for at least 10 years, were found to have lost 75 to
85 percent of the original total vegetation by 1930 (10) .
EFFECT OF DRY SEASONS ON GRAZING USE
Climate largely determines the seasons of the year when range
use is practicable. It is only natural that livestock owners should
graze their animals on the range, where feed is cheap, as long as
possible. However, snow and stormy weather usually prevent winter
grazing on the high mountain ranges, although at lower elevations
winter or yearlong grazing is often practiced. All in all, the criti-
cal seasons of the year on the range usually coincide with the occur-
rence of dry or otherwise unfavorable climatic conditions.
In the Southwest, the spring is ordinarily the most difficult season
for range vegetation, as well as for range livestock. Temperatures
rise sufficiently high to permit vegetative growth, but the necessary
moisture is usually lacking. The soil and air are exceedingly dry,
and winds often blow day after day. The dry soil loosened by graz-
ing animals blows away from some plants exposing their roots and
is deposited on others. On the Jornada range in southern New
Mexico the black grama grass on several thousand acres of range
was covered over and killed by deposits of several inches of sand
blown from an adjacent severely overgrazed range in 1917 and 1918.
During the drought, unmanaged range, heavily overgrazed, espe-
cially in the spring, declined 81 percent in comparison with a de-
cline of 58 percent on the more conservatively grazed Jornada range
(93).
The problem of adequate range forage during the spring and
fall seasons is also serious in the intermountain region. Spring
feed is especially important to give lambs and calves a proper start.
A conservative grazing system introduced experimentally by the
Forest Service at the United States Sheep Station in southeastern
Idaho brought about a 15-percent improvement in spring-fall ranges
in 9 years. Sheep were turned onto the range in the spring only
after soil moisture and rising temperatures had allowed the bunch-
grasses to become well started. In the same 9 years, forage pro-
duction declined 50 percent on unmanaged range where too many
sheep were placed on the range too early in the spring and were
allowed to overgraze the vegetation.
VEGETATIVE STAND DECREASES AFTER DROUGHT
In 1935 the stockmen and others in many sections of the West
were surprised by what appeared to be quick recovery of range
vegetation from the severe 1934 drought. Once again, just as in
6494636 11
146
THE WESTERN RANGE
previous decades, came overconfident statements to the effect that
only a few more drops of rain are all that the West needs to "bring
the range back" (3). What actually happened was rather less
reassuring than what was popularly assumed to have occurred.
True, grasses made good height growth over most of the West
where good rains fell. For example, the height growth of spiked
wheatgrass in southern Idaho was 8 inches in 1935 as compared to
4.6 inches in 1934, and black grama in southern New Mexico was
16.1 inches in 1935, as against 2.2 inches in 1934. But the stand
or density of vegetation was far from being brought back, especially
on overgrazed ranges. Measurements in 1935 showed that the grass
density even on plots protected from grazing declined 77 percent
as a result of the 1934 drought in central Arizona. Measurements
at several locations in the West showed that as a result of the 1934
drought, the density of grasses continued to decrease in 1935 even
1600
400
I
(0200
CO
s
MIXED PERENNIAL
GRASSES -IDAHO
BUNCHGRASS
UTAH
BLACK GRAMA
NEW MEXICO
1933 1934 1935
1933 1934 1935
1933 1934 1935
FIGURE 50. EFFECT OF DROUGHT ON AREA OP GRASS TUFTS.
The density of vegetation continued to decline in 1935 in all of these three regions,
as a result of the 1934 drought, even on ungrazed plots.
CLIMATIC FLUCTUATIONS 147
on ungrazed plots, although the 1935 rainfall was about normal
(fig. 50). Those who saw "recovery" in 1935 failed to realize that
livestock cannot thrive permanently on a single year's good height
growth produced by a stand of vegetation thinned and weakened
by drought and overgrazing. It requires both a good stand or
density of vegetation and height growth to produce the volume of
forage necessary for stabilized range use. Forest Service studies
show that it takes 3 to 5 years of favorable precipitation to restore
drought-depleted stands of sod-forming grasses and good-seeding
bunchgrasses even under conservative grazing. Unfortunately, the
types containing poor-seeding bunchgrasses are widespread in the
West and have continued to deteriorate, as shown in previous
sections.
The continued decreases in stands of range forage observed in 1935
confirm studies on the Jornada Range in southern New Mexico, which
show that the stand of black grama increases or decreases in accord-
ance with the rainfall for the previous year (93). Thus unusually
low rainfall in 1921 caused a decrease of 89 percent in the stand on
ungrazed plots during the 2 years 1922 and 1923. The loss was largely
restored by 1926 under higher rainfall. Measurements during the
same period on range overgrazed year after year showed that the
black grama was completely killed out during the drought of 1922
and 1923, and was replaced by snakeweed and other worthless or poor
forage plants during the following years of higher rainfall.
CYCLIC FLUCTUATIONS IN VEGETATIVE GROWTH
The foregoing examples indicate the nature of the cyclic trends in
the stand of range vegetation. Just as the volume of wood grown
each year by a tree (as indicated by the thickness of tree rings)
reflects the annual and cyclic variations in precipitation, so the range
vegetation fluctuates from year to year and over periods of dry and
wet years.
Fluctuations in density of range vegetation, broadly corresponding
to increased or decreased precipitation, have been observed in many
parts of the West. For example, a stand of mixed perennial grasses
in southern Idaho varied from 969 cm 2 per square meter in 1926 to
296 cm 2 in 1935. A similar stand in central Utah varied from 774 cm 2
in 1931 to 295 cm 2 in 1935. A bunchgrass type in northern Arizona
varied from 856 cm 2 in 1912 to 2,686 cm 2 in 1930. The stand of vege-
tation may recuperate wonderfully in good years only to decrease
again during drought. Overgrazing or other practices which fail to
accord with good range management and violate the scheme of nature
so impair the vegetation that instead of recuperating during yearsi of
favorable rainfall, it actually regains very little of its original stand
and then declines further in the next drought. Forest Service studies
on western Utah winter ranges show that the drought from 1931 to
1934 caused a 20-percent decrease in available forage plants on
ungrazed plots, but on overgrazed areas within a few miles of water,
depletion was approximately 60 percent (136) .
Severe drought also affects the soil unfavorably. The stand of
vegetation is so reduced that the unprotected soil is exposed to greatly
148 THE WESTERN
accelerated erosion by both wind and water. The now famous "dust
bowl" of western Kansas and eastern Colorado is an extreme example
of wind erosion during and following drought. The removal of the
fertile upper soil layers exposes the raw subsoil and makes it just so
much more difficult to restore the range vegetation. Accelerated
water erosion, which is more fully discussed in another section, is fully
as detrimental to range productivity as wind erosion.
That actual management of livestock on the range has utterly dis-
regarded the probability of recurrent drought is shown by a com-
parison of livestock numbers with rainfall. In New Mexico, for
example, the major peaks in livestock numbers correspond with the
major drought periods. Although rainfall steadily decreased from
1931 to the low point in 1934, livestock numbers continued to increase
during the entire period (fig. 51) . On January 1, 1934, after one dry
year and at the beginning of one of the worst drought years ever
recorded in the State, livestock numbers were at the highest point
in over a decade. The Government relief purchases in the summer
of 1934 automatically reduced livestock numbers and absorbed some
of the losses that private owners otherwise would have suffered.
The same sort of thing happened in New Mexico in nearly every
drought period. Although rainfall dropped abruptly during 1916
and 1917, livestock numbers increased in those two years and dropped
off rapidly in 1918 and 1919. Again, the rainfall decreased greatly
during the period from 1920 to 1922, but livestock numbers increased
during 1920 and 1921 to a peak on January 1, 1922, then dropped off
sharply through wholesale starvation losses and distress sales during
the culmination of the drought in 1922 and early 1923. Undoubtedly
the ranges were badly depleted in 1917 and 1922 so that the peak of
livestock numbers in 1934 was considerably below the preceding two
high points. The records for other States and for the entire western
range area show much the same thing.
Some vegetative types are much more susceptible to depletion dur-
ing drought than others. A conservatively grazed black grama type
in southern New Mexico declined 77 percent from 1933 to 1935, and a
lightly grazed short-grass type in eastern Montana declined 67 per-
cent, but a mixed perennial type in the Wasatch Mountains of cen-
tral Utah declined only 48 percent during the same period. Forest
Service records of these areas during previous droughts indicate simi-
lar relationships. Stands of vegetation which vary most offer least
resistance to continued depletion as a result of overgrazing. This
factor of susceptibility to depletion must be taken into account in
any program of use adjustment.
CLIMATIC GUIDES TO PERMANENT RANGE USE
The delimitation of the range area and of definite regions in which
range or agricultural use is particularly hazardous, is a necessary
step in any forward-looking land-use program. Final fixing of the
boundaries of marginal and submarginal areas will, of course, be
dependent upon economic and other considerations, but climate alone
can indicate broad regional characteristics of suitability for grazing
and cultivation.
For example, the annual rainfall is below 5 inches over much of
the Mohave-Gila Desert in southwestern Arizona and southeastern
CLIMATIC FLUCTUATIONS
149
California. The available soil moisture there is simply too scant to
support sufficient palatable vegetation, and the supply of water for
livestock is so scarce that little attempt has been made to graze large
areas. Although the desert may furnish occasional winter grazing,
it is not dependable.
125
100
&
1
^
fe
K
r 5
ie
50
Rainfall
V
Livestock
Numbers
1931
1932
1933
1934
1935
FIGURE 51. STOCKING NOT ADJUSTED TO RAINFALL.
Livestock numbers increased in New Mexico during each of three such major drought
periods as that of 1933-34, shown above. A typical example of the stocking of ranges
without regard for natural fluctuations in range forage production. (Percentages are
based on average annual precipitation and on animal units as of January 1 for the
period 1915-35.)
Adjacent to the desert is the zone with 5 to 10 inches of rainfall
extending from south-central Arizona as far north as Boise, Idaho.
Nearly all of this great semidesert area is grazed at some time during
the year, but drought is frequent and the range types are very
susceptible to depletion, facts which explain why the area de-
150 THE WESTERN RANGE
teriorated so greatly during the major droughts of 1893, 1903, 1924,
1928 to 1931, and 1934. All of these factors combine to indicate
that at least the drier part of the southern half of this great semi-
desert zone may be marginal for permanent ranching. The northern
half, where cooler, temperatures encourage longer retention of soil
moisture, has better forage production and offers better potential
permanent range use. Actually the whole area has been badly de-
pleted by continued overgrazing, especially during severe drought.
Dry farming has been attempted on many western range areas,
where even ranching is difficult. Misguided settlers tried to grow
cultivated crops without irrigation where rainfall is too low for
other than range use in parts of every western State. The range was
plowed under, cultivated for a few years, and then abandoned. Out-
standing examples of such settlement in zones with less than a
15-inch rainfall have occurred in eastern Montana, eastern Colorado,
southern New Mexico, and northwestern Utah, within the past
decade. The net result has been the financial ruin of the hopeful
farmers, and the physical ruin of the range area involved. Best
permanent use of the range resource requires a national land-use
program that will prevent repetition of such ill-advised exploitation.
The climatic characteristics prevailing on the principal range
types, and their effect upon the depletion of such types, are major
problems affecting range use, as will be evident later in this report
in the classification of types for land use. Where the fluctuations
and adversities of climate are not too great to permit range use,
probably the outstanding prerequisite of management is the necessity
for conservative grazing. Stocking the range at a point sufficiently
below average forage production to provide adequate feed for the
livestock in all but the most severe drought years is almost axiomatic
in management to minimize drought losses, assure stable livestock
production, and maintain the range resource. Beyond that, however,
much more intensive study and analysis is required for a final
solution of the climatic phases bearing on range land use.
Furthermore, although the land that is too dry or otherwise un-
suitable for range use may be taken out of production, there still
remains the major problem, in the face of climatic risks now known
to occur, of developing systems of range management that will
enable restoration and maintenance of the forage resources for those
areas that remain in use. Years such as 1934 make a dismal picture,
but there are always years of plenty that brighten the aspect. The
problems are not insurmountable; they are susceptible of solution,
as outlined in the program sections of this report.
EXCESSIVE STOCKING
By W. R. CHAPLINB, Chief, Division of Range Research
"The Last of 5,000", that graphic sketch by Charles Kussell,
world-famous Montana cowboy artist, depicts strikingly the ulti-
mate effect of excessive stocking. One feels that the poor, lone
"critter", so utterly emaciated and filled with despair, will soon
be a feast for the coyotes lurking in the background. Granville
Stuart, in his Forty Years on the Frontier (138) , writes :
Charlie was in charge of a herd in the Judith Basin, when the owner, who
lived in Helena, wrote and asked how his cattle was getting along. For
answer Charlie sent him the sketch.
The important cause, Stuart indicates, was range depletion,
brought about by overstocking. He describes how, during the sum-
mer of 1885, more than 100,000 head of cattle and innumerable
bands of sheep trailed into Montana onto an already crowded range.
Then came the first heavy losses from the eating of poisonous plants,
in the spring of 1886, because of the shortage of palatable forage.
Again that summer, more stock poured into Montana ; it was hot and
dry, and a severe winter followed. "The cows were all thin" and
losses were extremely heavy. Some herds
perished outright. Others lost from 75 to 80 percent of their cattle. * * *
In the spring of 1887 the ranges presented a tragic aspect. Along the streams
and in the coulees everywhere were strewn the carcasses of dead cattle. Those
that were left alive were poor and ragged in appearance, weak, and easily
mired in the mudholes.
This may seem an extreme situation, but many like it were re-
corded in early historical accounts. Bentley (16), for example, in
explaining the tendency to expand the cattle business in western
Texas, states:
As a result of this madness, the range was overstocked, and a dozen cows
and sheep were crowded on the "free grass", where half the number was too
many. The ranges were quickly eaten and trampled out. * * *
One cowman decided to sell his herd of 25,000 cattle in 1882 :
He did not get his price, hence had to hold over his herd through the winter
of 1882-83. It was an exceptionally severe one, and the following spring only
about 10,000 head were rounded up. * * * On the 100,000 acres he was
using he might have held 10,000 head of cattle safely, * * * but in his
eagerness to get rich fast he greatly overstocked the range, made no provision
for winter feed, never thought it necessary to provide any sort of shelter for
his stock, and suffered the inevitable consequences of this reckless way of
doing business.
Gordon (58), in a special report on the range area accompanying
the Tenth Census in 1880 considered some ranges overstocked and
depleted even then. He referred to these conditions in such state-
ments as the following :
The best quality of pasture of today (in Colorado) is only comparatively
good, the best quality of 20 years ago having been essentially changed. * * *
The character of the natural grazing in southwest Montana has greatly depre-
ciated. Stockmen of the longest experience reported that a cow ranged 50
151
152 THE WESTERN RANGE
acres to find what grew on 20 acres 6 years ago, and on 5 acres in 1870. * * *
"Free range" * * * resulted in excessive grazing, and rendered many wide
areas of Nevada south of the Humboldt River wholly unfit for more than a
limited stock occupancy.
Thornber (144), in describing the early situation in Arizona,
stated :
The serious consequences attending the grazing, ultimately, of nearly double
the number of stock on the ranges that could be carried safely year after year,
culminated in the disastrous droughty period of 1891 to 1894. * * * With
a general shortage of feed and water on the ranges, stock died off on every
hand. It is estimated that over 250,000 cattle, out of somewhat more than
800,000 all told, perished on the ranges in Arizona alone during the period of
1891 to 1894, not to mention the number of sheep and other grazing animals.
In many localities from 25 to 50 percent of the stock died from starvation,
while as many more were left in such condition as to require a season for
recovery.
President Theodore Roosevelt's commission to study the land sit-
uation and to make recommendations for the best utilization of
the remaining public domain, after an exhaustive study including
1,400 answers to a circular letter addressed to stockmen throughout
the West, reported in 1905 (H6), in effect, that the general lack of
control of the range lands had resulted in overgrazing and in the
ruin of millions of acres of otherwise valuable grazing territory.
There can be little question but that these writers and the Roose-
velt Commission were convinced that during the eighties, nineties,
and early 1900's, ranges were excessively stocked and were being
depleted as a result.
The range wars of these early days were still another symptom
of overstocking. Had range feed been sufficiently abundant to meet
the needs of all the livestock that new settlers and stockmen aspired
to graze, little reason for conflict would have developed. However,
when the established stockmen witnessed the invasion of "trespass-
ing" herds and saw their winter's feed supply vanishing, as hungry
animals consumed every vestige of forage, deadly strife resulted.
Has excessive stocking, the grazing of more livestock or other
animals on a range in any year than the available range feed can
sustain year in and year out, continued on range lands, and has it
caused range deterioration ? Some stockmen and others are not con-
vinced that it has. The serious and widespread depletion of range
lands has already been pointed out. If excessive stocking has been
responsible, at least in part, and if present stocking constitutes over-
stocking, there should be evidence to prove it.
EVIDENCES OF EXCESSIVE STOCKING
Evidences of excessive stocking include such features as :
(1) The inability of the range to support the large numbers of
livestock carried since about 1890 within the range area, indicated
in two ways by an increasing use of feeds other than range forage,
and by a declining trend in numbers of livestock grazing range lands.
(2) Deterioration of the range itself, which is not alone due to
climate.
(3) Present stocking considerably in excess of estimated grazing
capacity.
(4) Serious losses and other unsatisfactory production as a result
of range feed shortage.
EXCESSIVE STOCKING
153
NUMBERS OF LIVESTOCK WITHIN RANGE AREA
In order to get at the evidences of excessive stocking, it is nec-
essary to consider first the numbers of livestock which have been car-
ried within the range area.
The approximate numbers of livestock, 11 expressed in animal
units, 12 from 1870 to 1935, within the 11 far-western States and the
range portion of the six Plains States, are shown graphically in
figure 52.
'MILLIONS)
> ro
> (j\
TOTAL ANIMAL UN ITS -YEAR LONG BASIS
-0 Oi 5 5 C
J
^
^\
^-^
S~\
/
**<&>
'~-\
/
^*
,''
-.-../'
' ~^**S
'
f.
X
/
1 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
i i i i i i i i i
I 1 1 1 1 I l l I
1 1 1 I
70 I860 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1935
Eleven Western States Range Portion 6 Plains States
FIGURE 52. Trends in total animal units in the range country.
Even in the face of severe losses in critical periods, numbers of
livestock show a rising trend for the first 48 years. Starvation and
winter losses of the eighties were soon forgotten; those stockmen
who still had a remnant on which to build and new settlers with
capital brought in from the East forced numbers on upward.
Livestock were pushed back into the less accessible mountain ranges
and into the poorly watered desert areas. The depression, drought,
and lack of range feed of the early nineties again took their toll
and halted the upward trend for a few years, but another upward
surge, principally in sheep, brought a new high peak about 1903.
A still higher peak was reached in 1918, the result of the World
War urge for increased production and the encouragement of high
"The yearly estimates of numbers of livestock in the range area are derived from the
published revised estimates of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics for the 17 Western
States for January of each year from 1919 to 1935, and before that time, from unpub-
lished revisions by that Bureau where available, and other similar revisions based on
original published estimates of the Department of Agriculture and Census records. For
the range portion of the six Plains States, the January 1 estimates for census years were
determined by using a proportionate ratio of census numbers in counties in the range
area to that for the whole State. Although these numbers cannot be considered as
accurate for all years, they do show with reasonable accuracy the main trends for the
period under consideration.
12 An animal unit for purposes of this report is considered to be one head of cattle,
one horse, one mule, five sheep, five swine, or five goats. The ratio of five to one was
considered a suitable average of the generally lower ratio between cattle and sheep on
the range, which in places is found by the Forest Service to be as low as three to one.
and the higher ratio between cattle and sheep in the feed lot used by animal husbandmen.
154 THE WESTERN RANGE
prices and easy credit. At that time there were approximately
13,254,000 cattle, 22,457,000 sheep, 3,347,000 horses and mules, and
3,565,000 swine and goats in the 11 far-western States. At the
same time, in the range portion of the six Plains States there were
approximately 8,082,000 cattle, 1,478,000 sheep, 2,837,000 horses and
mules, and 5,276,000 swine and goats. Since the war there has been
a declining trend in livestock numbers with an abrupt drop in 1934.
Total number of animals within the range area is not an entirely
reliable criterion of overstocking since it does not tell the whole
story. Numbers which have grazed on the range is the important
point. Those who have considered that, because numbers within the
range area have held up during the last 35 years, there has been no
widespread overstocking, have overlooked several important factors.
True, animal units on hand January 1, 1935, in the 11 far-western
States were only 4.4 percent below the 35-year average; and in the
range portion of the 6 Plains States, about 7 percent below ; but such
calculations fail to take into account the influence of supplemental
feed, irrigated pastures, and other factors.
NUMBERS OF LIVESTOCK ON RANGE AND OTHER FEED
In the early days of the West nearly all livestock obtained their
feed from range forage. A few ranches put up a small quantity of
hay, but this was used primarily for maintaining the saddle horses
rather than as supplemental feed for other livestock, except when
deep snows or other emergencies required.
When the pressure for range became acute the cattlemen, who were
the first to feel it, not only began to practice winter feeding but also
to purchase ranch properties on which they could produce hay and
other roughages. Later, sheepmen in turn were forced to take simi-
lar action (166). The bringing into permanent crop production of
about 100 million acres in the West cut into the more desirable range
areas but made available large quantities of supplemental feeds and
also much stubble for grazing.
In 1890 there was only 34,687,000 acres of improved farm land of
all kinds in the range area, with a little over 3,600,000 acres irri-
gated; improved pastures were not abundant, and there was rela-
tively little shipment of concentrates into the range country. By
1930 the cultivated area was nearly three times as great as all im-
proved land in farms in 1890 ; hay and other forage-crop production
was nearly five times as great; irrigated land had also increased
fivefold ; improved pastures were common on farms, and millions of
acres of wheat and other grain stubble were used for grazing. Sev-
eral million tons of grain, cottonseed cake, linseed meal, and other
concentrates are now produced or shipped into the range area for
feeding. Other products used for feeding have also become of vast
importance, such as ensilage, beet pulp, pea vines, bean straw, fish
meal, and rice and fruit byproducts.
While part of this feed has been used to safeguard against losses
from inclement weather and because of changed production prac-
tices in the livestock industry, much of it has had to be used because
of increasing scarcity and lower value of range forage, manifest in
longer winter feeding periods and increased need for supplements at
other times.
EXCESSIVE STOCKING
155
Numerous examples might be cited from all sections of the West
of longer winter feeding periods because of scarcity of range feed.
Cattle are now fed hay and other roughages often for 3 to 5 months,
whereas in the early days such feeds were seldom required for more
than a month or so and that commonly as a supplement to winter
grazing.
Similarly the loss of highly palatable forage plants from the
range and the necessity of livestock subsisting on low-value plants
has required use of concentrates to furnish the protein and vitamin
A (69} so essential to the well-being of the animals. Thousands of
tons of cottonseed cake, for example, are fed on southwestern ranges
and many carloads of grain and other concentrates are hauled to
ranges in other parts of the West to - supplement the low-quality
range feed now generally available. The use of this supplemental
feed, however, has made it possible to carry large numbers of live-
stock on ranges where they subsist primarily on the low-value plants
and thus overgraze the more palatable.
Table 27 presents the approximate number of livestock, expressed
in animal units per year grazed on range lands, including unirri-
gated farm pastures and stubble fields, and the approximate number
which obtained feed from harvested crops, concentrates, and other
supplements, 13 and from irrigated pastures 14 from 1870 to 1935. It
is believed that the improved unirrigated farm pastures, grain
stubble, and unrecorded concentrates shipped into the range area will
offset the 11 percent decline in range area which has occurred, chiefly
since 1890.
TABLE 27. Animal units dependent on range feed and on supplemental feed and
irrigated pastures, in the 11 far-western States and the 6 Plains States,
1870-1933
[In thousands of animal units]
Region and type of feed
1870
1880
1890
1900
1910
1920
1930
1935
11 far-western States:
On range '
4,229
9 214
12,528
11,406
10, 449
11, 180
10,699
10,032
On other feed J
204
582
1,676
3,399
7,091
9,274
7,261
7,545
Total
4,433
9,796
14,204
14, 805
17, 540
20,454
17,960
17, 577
Range portion of 6 Plains States:
On range '
1,390
2,807
6, 758
8,504
7,630
9,541
9,293
7,260
On other feed*
45
130
375
792
1,521
2,541
2,414
2,935
Total
1,435
2,937
7,133
9,296
9,151
12,082
11, 707
10, 195
Total range area:
On range l
5,619
12. 021
19,286
19, 910
18, 079
20,721
19,992
17,292
On other feed *._
249
712
2,051
4,191
8,612
11,815
9,675
10, 480
Total
5,868
12, 733
21, 337
24, 101
26,691
32, 536
29,667
27, 772
1 Including improved unirrigated farm pastures.
J Harvested crops, concentrates, and irrigated pastures.
13 The approximate number which obtained feed from harvested crops and other con-
centrates was derived for each census year by relating the number of livestock obtaining
feed from harvested crops and concentrates in 1925, as worked out by the committee of
the U. S. Department of Agriculture (Feed Resources : 11 Western States. Ext. Ser.
Circ. 41, 23 pp., illus., 1927, mimeographed), to the census record of hay and forage
crop production in 1925, and then using that same index in relation to hay and other
forage production as shown by the census in the other census years. The average
production of recent years was used in 1935 rather than the short feed production in
1934. In the main this method is comparable to considering approximately 2 tons of
cottonseed products, 2% tons of grain and other concentrates, or approximately 7 tons
of hay and fodder per animal unit per year. These figures are more conservative than
are sometimes used in determining feed requirements in the range area.
14 Two acres of irrigated pasture is considered necessary per animal unit per year.
156 THE WESTERN RANGE
DECLINING NUMBERS ON RANGE THROUGHOUT THE WEST INDICATE EXCESS
In the range portion of the Plains States, numbers on ranges
reached an early peak of over 8.5 million animal units about 1900.
After a decline of around 10 percent to 1910 a new peak was estab-
lished about 1920 when approximately 9.5 million animal units were
on these range lands. Since 1920 there has been a decline of about
24 percent, especially marked in 1934- These figures may not be
an entirely true picture of range stocking in the Plains States be-
cause of a number of uncertain factors. There are, for example,
large quantities of unrecorded grain and other feeds shipped into
this area, an unestimated area of grain fields that are grazed in
winter and as stubble, and some of the cattle recorded as on farms
and ranges on January 1 are shipped out of the area in the spring.
The difficulty of taking adequate account of these features in the
Plains States tends to show larger numbers of livestock on ranges
throughout the year than is probably the case.
In the 11 far-western States the peak of livestock on ranges was
reached about 1890, when 12.5 million animal units were obtaining
their feed from range lands, 88 percent of the livestock then in these
States. By 1910, around 10.4 million animal units were on range,
about 60 percent of the total animal units. Following another rise
to 1920 there has been a^ declining trend to 1935 when about 10
million, 57 percent of the total animal units, were on range lands.
Thus a net decline of about 20 percent has occurred on range lands
since 1890.
Figure 53 brings out the decline which occurred in the stocking of
range lands between 1890 and 1910, and again between 1920 and
1935. While the grazing of heavier animals, as a result of better
breeding and other improved animal production practices, may ac-
count in part for these declines, they are also undoubtedly due partly
to a declining range-feed supply caused by overstocking.
The rise from 1910 to 1920 represents primarily the increase
caused by war demands and does not indicate that there was range
forage available for the excess livestock. In fact there are many
indications that excessive stocking became the rule. In western
Texas, for example, the upward trend was abruptly halted in 1916
and 1917 when range conditions failed, starvation losses were wide-
spread, and forced shipments of livestock were made as ranges be-
came more depleted. Along the Texas & Pacific Railroad in the
Trans-Pecos country, ranges presented a pitiful sight. Feed gone,
carcasses of cattle in great numbers around water holes, and gaunt,
stary-eyed cattle still alive, their ribs all but protruding through
the flesh all these evidences told a tragic story of failure to keep
numbers within safe limits of range- feed production.
The opening up of new areas by water developments, trails, and
other means, has also been a factor in holding up livestock numbers
grazing range lands. At first the more readily accessible ranges
were stocked. As high prices stimulated expansion or as exhausted
feed supplies, especially during drought, compelled removal of live-
stock from overgrazed ranges, stockmen have drilled wells, con-
structed reservoirs, and made other improvements in order to utilize
formerly unused or lightly used ranges. Such improvements ex-
panded the range livestock industry to the point of compensating
EXCESSIVE STOCKING
157
for livestock decreases necessary on many overstocked and deterio-
rating ranges.
Even the decline from 1890 to 1935 does not in itself indicate that
range feed would satisfactorily support the reduced numbers now
grazing on ranges. Many herds are being carried on little more
than a subsistence basis, aided by the feeding of concentrates. Under
such conditions of excessive stocking, cattle, sheep, and especially
goats, have continued to graze ranges after all palatable feed had
been consumed. It has been necessary for the livestock to subsist
almost entirely upon low-value plants such as the common sagebrush.
15
1
-J
i
10
1870 1880 1890 1900
Animal Units on Range
1910 1920 1930 1935
Animal Units on Feed
FIGURE 53. RANGE VERSUS OTHER FEED IN THE FAR-WESTERN STATES.
Despite rapid stocking of range lands between 1870 and 1890, the declining trends in
animal units on range from 1890 to 1910 and 1920 to 1935, indicate at least in part
depletion of range due to overstocking. This indication is substantiated by the
increasing use of expensive supplemental feed.
yellow brush, and weeds, which under conservative utilization would
be grazed, but little except possibly in dry years.
The striking increase in livestock carried on feeds other than range
forage shown in figure 53 is in itself an evidence of overstocking.
Stockmen do not feed hay, costing $5 to $20 or more a ton, or costly
concentrates, if adequate range pasturage worth $1 to $3 and often
less for an equal feeding period is available. Winter feeding is ex-
pensive and ranchers are now compelled to rely largely on the cheap
summer forage for profit.
VARIATION IN THE INDIVIDUAL STATES
The situation in the 11 far-western States as a whole is duplicated
to a degree in most of the individual States. New Mexico, for ex-
ample, illustrates an even more marked decline in numbers of live-
158
THE WESTERN RANGE
stock with declining grazing capacity of range lands and increasing
numbers on supplemental feed (fig. 54) . In 1890 approximately 2.1
million animal units were grazing range lands, and according to his-
torical and other evidences serious damage was being done to ranges
at that time. Both in 1900 and 1910 there were approximately 1.6
million animal units on the range. It is possible that with these
lower numbers there were favorable years when the ranges of the
State as a whole were not materially overstocked. But, by 1920,
war demands had again increased numbers on ranges to more than
2 million animal units and the evidence is ample that ranges through-
out the State were then seriously overstocked. In 1924 many cattle
had to be moved into old Mexico because of feed shortage. By 1930
2.0
1.0
1870 1880 1890 1900 1910
M Animal Units on Range
1920 1930 1935
Animal Units on Feed
FIGURE 54. In New Mexico, a State in which livestock depend principally upon range,
a decided downward trend in range forage supply since 1890 is indicated.
numbers on ranges had dropped to about 1.5 million animal units, a
decline of about 25 percent in 10 years and approximately this same
number is grazing range lands in 1935.
In Utah, top, there has been a declining tendency in numbers of
livestock grazing range lands since 1900. The increases as a result
of war demand were not so great as in New Mexico and some other
States. Increased feed has been an important factor in maintaining
livestock in the State as a whole. In all, range lands and unirri-
gated pastures were furnishing only about 45 percent of the feed
for livestock in 1935, in contrast to about 77 percent in 1900, as
shown in figure 55.
In contrast to declining trends in most other range areas where
depletion has resulted from overgrazing, the 33 counties in the range
EXCESSIVE STOCKING
159
portion of western Nebraska have carried increasing numbers of
livestock on range up through 1930 (fig. 56). These counties are
made up primarily of the sand-hill tall-grass prairie type and
native hay meadows, which up to 1934 showed little if any deteriora-
ANIMAL UNITS ON RANGE
ANIMAL UNITS ON FEED
1935
800
600
400
200 200
THOUSAND UNITS
400
600
800
FIGURE 55. In Utah the animals on feed have more than doubled since 1900, and
animal units on range have decreased in still greater numbers.
1.2
1.0
$0.8
^j
^j
5
I
-j
5 0.4
$
0.2
1870
1880
1890
1900
1910
1920
1930
FIGURE 56. Livestock obtaining feed from range lands in western Nebraska show an
upward trend ; care of the range on approximately 12,000,000 acres of sand-hill country,
wuich constitutes the bulk of the range in this State, has made this possible.
tion in forage production. In the sand-hill area, in fact, there ap-
pears to have been an improvement in forage conditions during the
last 50 years as a result of control of prairie fires and conservative
grazing.
160
THE WESTERN RANGE
BANGS COUNTIES SHOW MABKED DECLINES
When one considers numbers of livestock within most of the
counties primarily made up of range land, the effect of overstocking
in causing decline in numbers over the years becomes quite marked.
Owyhee County, Idaho, furnishes a good example. If we may take
historical records and statements of old-time stockmen as a basis,
there is a rather clear indication that in 1888 some 100,000 cattle and
horses grazed yearlong in the county and at least 50,000 sheep, a
200
^o"
150
5
r--^^
X
X
X
"^^^^
/
:s
o
5
,'00
V
^ N ^
^
_ - -~~"
^
^
*
-J
^ 50
^
1
-
900 1910 1920 1930 1935
Cochise County, Arizona. Maricopa County, Arizona.
(Mainly range) (Mainly irrigated)
FIGURE 57. Striking contrast in variation of livestock numbers between a range county
and an irrigated county in Arizona.
total of about 110,000 animal units. These old-timers believe that
at most times the range was overgrazed. In 1930, 32,000 cattle and
horses were grazing on the range about half of the year, and 178,000
sheep not more than 5 months of the year. If these reduced seasons
of use are taken into account, there has been a decrease of over 70
percent in the grazing on range lands since 1888. This is an indica-
tion of serious reduction in grazing capacity, which must in turn
be due to depletion of forage on the ranges. In this case, the deple-
tion amounts to approximately 70 percent of virgin conditions, as
shown by an intensive plot survey of the county by the Forest
Service in 1932.
Many other range counties throughout the West show materially
lower numbers of livestock because of overstocking, although supple-
mental feed has, in part, offset the decline in range feed. For ex-
ample, numbers of livestock expressed in animal units in Malheur
County, just across the Oregon line from Owyhee County, Idaho,
EXCESSIVE STOCKING 161
have declined, according to the census, about 30 percent between 1900
and 1930 ; and in Rio Arriba, Socorro, and Sierra Counties, N. Mex.,
60, 68, and 52 percent, respectively.
While numbers of livestock in most range counties have been de-
clining, other counties in which considerable irrigation has devel-
oped have shown marked increases and thus have offset the range
counties in the figures for the State as a whole. Maricopa County,
Ariz., for example, had only 8,000 animal units according to the
census of 1890; but by 1900 it had 89,000 animal units; and 151,000
by 1935 an increase of 70 percent since 1900. Figure 57 illustrates
this trend in contrast to the 39 percent decline in Cochise County, a
range county in the same State. Yakima County, Wash., had 46,000
animal units in 1910 and 114,000 in 1930. Although the actual in-
crease in animal units has not generally been so great, many other
counties in which irrigation has been developed have shown in-
creases up to 50 percent.
All in all, the evidences of excessive stocking shown by livestock
numbers are marked. Declines of 24 percent in animal units graz-
ing on ranges in the range portion of the Plains States since 1920, and
of 20 percent in the 11 far- western States since 1890, have added
importance when it is considered that many areas of poor accessibility
have been opened up since 1890 and most range livestock are now
being carried on a subsistence basis. Similar declines are evident in
important range States, and even greater reductions in many range
counties. The greatly increased feeding of supplements more costly
than range forage is still another striking evidence that present
numbers carried on the range represents in most cases excessive
stocking.
EVIDENCE AFFORDED BY RANGE DETERIORATION ITSELF
Severe depletion, as brought out in the preceding chapter, has
occurred generally on western ranges. All types and all parts of the
West have suffered. In the aggregate, range lands show a deteriora-
tion of 52 percent. No other explanation for this depletion than
excessive stocking and overgrazing in their various forms can be
deduced from the evidence at hand.
DEPLETION NOT DUE TO CLIMATE ALONE
Stockmen generally point to drought as the primary cause of de-
pletion of their ranges. The importance of this factor has already
been made clear, but there is no substantial evidence that it is the,
decisive factor in any but exceptional cases. There has been no
general recent change in climate despite the recent dry cycle of 5 to
nearly 20 years in different parts of the West. In the northern plains,
according to the climatic records at Miles City, one of the oldest sta-
tions, the recent dry cycle is no worse than the dry period of the
eighties nor as long.
Specific evidence that climate alone is not responsible for depletion
appears in the comparable quadrat records of conservatively grazed
and ungrazed plots on semidesert ranges of southern New Mexico
(93). Conservatively grazed areas varied with rainfall almost di-
6494636 12
162 THE WESTERN RANGE
rectly, as did ungrazed comparable plots. On the other hand, range
areas excessively stocked deteriorated more rapidly, recovered more
slowly, and consistently supported a poorer stand of forage.
Fenced and conservatively used areas throughout the West are
invariably better than excessively stocked and therefore heavily
grazed ranges. But drought does not stop at fence lines.
REASONABLE GRAZING NOT DETRIMENTAL
Investigations have shown that a reasonable degree of cropping is
not detrimental to plant growth. Studies (116} in the mountains of
central Utah indicate that "grazing closely twice or even three times
in a (summer) season, provided the first grazing is late enough and
the intervals are sufficient for the vegetation quite to recover from
each cropping, ordinarily does not seriously affect the yield and
vigor of the plant cover."
The sand hills of Nebraska already cited are an example of a large
area under private ownership, about 12 million acres, where the
vegetation has been maintained or improved in recent years under
grazing. There, slight deterioration of the vegetative cover is so
apt to start blowing of sand that damage can be readily recognized.
Rainfall is sufficient, and the character of the vegetation is such
that when the cause of damage is overcome a rather rapid recovery
is made.
Under regulation of grazing on the national forests an effort has
been made to adjust numbers of livestock to the sustained grazing
capacity of the range forage. While there is still more or less deple-
tion of ranges from their virgin conditions prevailing within na-
tional forests, and while adjustments in recent dry years have not
entirely kept pace with depletion, most of the national forest ranges
under grazing use have shown improvement in forage conditions
since they were placed under administration by the Department of
Agriculture.
Even on semidesert grass and shrub ranges of the Jornada Experi-
mental Range in southern New Mexico, where vegetative conditions
vary widely from year to year, studies (93) show that, on sandy
soils
* * * the average density of black grama over the 13-year period (1915
to 1927) was practically the same under conservative grazing as under no
grazing. The decline during drought was rather similar under both condi-
tions, but the return of favorable rainfall brought more rapid recovery under
conservative grazing. Conservative grazing appears to break up the large,
separated tufts formed under freedom from use into smaller tufts better
adapted to make efficient use of the available soil moisture, * * * black
grama remains dominant after drought in spite of the rapid inroads of asso-
ciated grass and weed species.
A somewhat similar improvement and maintenance of tobosa grass
areas on clay soils was noted within the Southern desert shrub type
(30).
PLANT INDICATORS OF OVERGRAZING
A plant is, in effect, a plant-food factory. It does not draw its
food already manufactured from the soil. It must take up water
and essential plant-food elements from the soil via the root system
and transport them to the leaves where, together with carbon dioxide
taken in through the leaves from the air, it manufactures the ma-
EXCESSIVE STOCKING
163
terials which make possible its further growth, the development of
seeds, and of particular importance in range management the
storage of food for winter maintenance and the beginning of herbage
growth the following spring. If the leaves which form this manu-
facturing plant are consumed before sufficient foods have been
formed to take care of the essential growth functions, the plant's
vigor will be sapped. If the food supply is inadequate, the plant
may succumb. It is of vital importance, therefore, to have a sub-
stantial leafage available on plants during the growing season.
In the semiarid range country of the West there is naturally a
critical balance between the moisture available for growth and the
needs of the plant cover, with a resulting competition for moisture.
Where grazing is introduced and the range is overstocked, the
palatable plants are grazed first and most heavily and are naturally
the ones to suffer most in this intense competition. The inevitable
thinning of the palatable plants releases the secondary species and
gives them the opportunity to increase in density. Where they in
turn are heavily grazed, in the absence of the more palatable
plants, opportunity is given for still less palatable species to
gain dominance.
Overgrazing for an extended period will thus leave "earmarks"
which can usually be recognized (7P), especially in the scarcity of
the choicest range plants and the predominance of low-value annual
weeds and grasses, or other plants which have little or no value
for grazing. Along with these signs will be others equally obvious,
the presence of dead and partly dead stumps or stubby branches of
shrubs, noticeable damage to tree reproduction, and erosion and
barrenness of the soil, usually accompanied by a series of stock
trails terracing the slopes.
To recognize current overgrazing is more difficult, yet it is im.-
portant in order to make timely adjustment. It is seldom that all
species are of equal palatability on a range. Since it is the important
palatable plants which furnish the bulk of the feed, it is essential
to use them as helpful criteria, to observe closely the degree to
which they are grazed, and to stock on a basis that will not injure
them. Many palatable grasses on western ranges can only sustain
their vigor and density under a degree of grazing which will utilize
by the end of the season no more than 70 to 80 percent of their
herbage production. Of sod-forming grasses, such as most gramas,
and on soils that are moderately compact, a slightly higher per-
centage of herbage may be taken in years of favorable rainfall.
With some bunchgrasses, however, and on sandy soils, it may not be
wise to utilize even 70 percent of the palatable herbage. Palatable
shrubs can seldom maintain their vigor when more than 75 to 80
percent of the tender twigs and leatage is grazed. Still, on most
ranges, and especially on those inadequately regulated, palatable
plants are being grazed more closely than these percentages even
in favorable years when maximum herbage is produced on each
plant.
On nearly all ranges many plants of moderate and low palatability
are present, which give the appearance of considerable "feed" when
those that are more palatable have been utilized as fully as they can
withstand. Dominance of secondary species prevails on millions of
acres of ranges depleted in excess of 50 percent, and even on some
164
THE WESTERN RANGE
showing a 25- to 50-percent depletion. On some of the more se-
riously deteriorated ranges these secondary species have been replaced
and only low-value or worthless plants remain. Such is the condi-
tion of many of the ranges depleted in excess of 75 percent. In the
light of such evidence, can there be doubt that excessive stocking
with its inevitable overgrazing has been an important factor in range
depletion ?
EVIDENCE AFFORDED BY PRESENT STOCKING AND ESTIMATED GRAZLNu
CAPACITY
Table 28 shows the approximate present stocking and estimated
grazing capacity of range lands by ownership jurisdictions. The
figures on present stocking on the national forests and Indian lands
are from actual records. Those for other jurisdictions have been
approximated from the best available information. The estimates
of grazing capacity are based upon field surveys of recent years and
careful examination of some 20,000 vegetation plots representative
of all range types and ownerships.
These data show that, even after the removal of large numbers
of livestock in 1934, there were still on January 1, 1935, approxi-
mately 17.3 million animal units on ranges within 'the range territory,
of which approximately 10 million were on ranges in the 11 far-
western States. In every ownership class more livestock are now
grazing range lands than the estimated grazing capacity would indi-
cate could be supported on a sustained basis year after year. They
also indicate, considering the quality of the range, a much heavier
stocking on public domain (including grazing districts) and on State
ranges than on national forests.
TABLE 28. Present stocking (Jan. 1, 1985), estimated grazing capacity, and
degree of excess stocking on usable western range
Region and ownership jurisdiction
Present
stocking
Present
estimated
grazing
capacity
Degree of
overstock-
ing 1
11 far- western States:
National forests
1,000
animal-unit
years
996
1,000
animal-unit
years
930
Percent
7. 1
Other Federal - -
1,804
1,018
77.1
Indian lands _ - -
585
435
34.5
State county municipal
834
481
73.4
Private..
5,813
4,270
36.1
Total
10, 032
7,134
40 6
Range portion (6 Plains States) :
National forests
22
22
Other Federal _._ - -
20
15
35.6
Indian lands
86
59
46.1
State, county, municipal -
1,079
476
126.5
Private
6, 053
3,126
93.6
Total -
7,260
3,698
96.3
Total range area:
National forests -
1,018
952
7.0
Other Federal . - --
1,824
1,033
76.5
Indian lands
671
494
35.9
State county municipal
1,913
957
99 8
Private - ....
11, 866
7,396
60.4
Total
17 292
10,832
59 6
i Excess over present estimated grazing capacity.
EXCESSIVE STOCKING 165
As previously indicated, the present stocking of ranges in the
Plains States may indicate heavier overstocking than actually pre-
vails because of the unknown quantity of concentrates shipped into
the area, the grain fields which are grazed in winter or as stubble,
and the heavy movements of cattle out of the area in the spring
this last factor affecting especially State and private lands in Texas.
It will be noted that the degree of excess stocking amounts to about
7 percent on national forests. This is the lowest of all and reflects
the efforts of the Forest Service to keep grazing within proper limits.
The greater part of this overstocking on national forests is the result
of deterioration from drought and the heavy demand from per-
mittees to maintain their herds during that period when their own
ranges were extremely short of feed. During the drought of 1934,
for example, larger numbers of livestock were carried on national
forests than normally and for a longer season.
Although overstocking shows up more seriously because of the
combined deterioration from drought and overgrazing, especially in
the Plains States, it indicates a very serious situation in all parts
of the West. This is especially true of the public domain, part of
which is being placed under administration in grazing districts,
where it will require a 43 -percent reduction in number of livestock
now grazed to overcome the 77 percent overstocking which prevails.
Average excess stocking of about 60 and 100 percent on private and
State lands, respectively, indicates the serious situation prevailing
on these ownerships and helps to explain the severe deterioration in
grazing capacity already discussed in an earlier chapter.
EVIDENCE AFFORDED BY SERIOUS LOSSES AND UNSATISFACTORY PRODUCTION
When more livestock are on a range than the available forage crop
will support, it is obvious that a shortage of palatable range feed
at least toward the end of the grazing season with consequent
starvation will result.
On ranges on which the palatable plants, such as perennial grasses,
have been replaced largely by such low-value plants as common sage-
brush, greasewood, and rabbitbrush, grazing of approximately the
numbers formerly placed on the range now results in the livestock
subsisting almost entirely on low-value plants. Stockmen and rep-
resentatives of the Bureau of Animal Industry report increasing
losses among sheep on the winter, or so-called "desert" ranges of
western Utah, primarily from malnutrition. This is not surprising
in view of the fact that the forage value of these ranges is now
only 36 percent of that of comparable areas in good condition, as
shown by a survey of the situation made by the Forest Service in
1932.
Poor or emaciated condition of livestock frequently contributed
to losses from other causes. Animals in a weakened condition are
naturally less resistant to many diseases, there is greater danger of
loss from predatory animals, and weak cows are commonly lost in
bggy places. The mortality from poisonous plants is also invari-
ably heaviest when livestock are hungry or when the range is closely
grazed.
Official estimates of the Department of Agriculture record annual
death losses of 9 percent or more among grown sheep as a rather
166 THE WESTERN RANGE
common occurrence in the principal range States, even in years that
were not particularly dry. Since these estimates include losses on
farms, where the average loss is lower, there is little doubt but that
range losses are even more severe than the State averages. Further-
more, range losses are greatly reduced by supplemental feed. Under
conservative grazing and good range conditions, with adequate sup-
plemental feed for emergencies, losses are usually not in excess of 5
percent and sometimes are lower.
Losses among range cattle are also two or three times as high on
most unmanaged range areas as they are on conservatively grazed
ranges in good condition. With average annual losses of about 7
percent among cattle in the range States in many years, there can be
little question that inadequate feed from overstocking is a potent
factor.
In drought periods, especially in the Southwest, and during severe
winters on northern ranges, losses of livestock in a weakened condi-
tion from a range-feed shortage on overstocked ranges often become
appalling. From 25 to 35 percent of some herds are lost in such
so-called "die-off s." On the other hand, herds on lightly or moder-
ately stocked ranges weather such adverse conditions with losses but
little greater than their average, usually not exceeding 3 or 4 percent.
Low calf and lamb crops are but another evidence of excessive
stocking. Cows and ewes in a weakened condition from feed shortage
or other malnutrition often fail to breed during the year, and calf
and lamb crops on western ranges accordingly are lower than is
desirable. Official estimates of the Bureau of Agricultural Eco-
nomics, for example, show that in New Mexico, for the 11-year
period from 1925 to 1935, the average lamb crop amounted to only
62 percent, reflecting, at least in part, a scarcity of feed on the ranges
in most years. In 1926, following a year of fairly good rainfall and
low numbers of sheep in the State, the lamb crop amounted to 78
percent. In 1932 and 1933, with about a third again as many sheep
and following average or better years of rainfall, the lamb crops were
only 52 and 50 percent, respectively. This would indicate that there
is some relationship between low lamb crops, excessive stocking, and
poor feed.
In southern Arizona the calf crop of representative cattle outfits
using unregulated, heavily grazed ranges averaged only 55 percent 15
for the 8-year period 1916 to 1923, inclusive. Since average annual
losses amounted to more than 10 percent, net production was only 45
calves for each 100 breeding cows, inadequate for profit. This is in
contrast to an average calf crop of 72.6 percent for the same period,
on the comparable but more conservatively grazed range, in ood
forage condition, within the Santa Rita Experimental Range. Here
losses from all causes amounted to 3.2 percent and net production was
69 calves for each 100 breeding cows, or more than half again as
many as on the depleted, overstocked range.
On heavily stocked semidesert ranges in the Southwest (50) , and
on brush ranges of southwestern Utah (53), many cows calve only
every other year. Under such conditions calves grow out poorly
and require an extra year to attain a weight comparable to calves
from better and more conservatively grazed ranges.
"United States Department of Agricculture, Forest Service. Field Day Program,
Santa Rita Range Reserve. 20 pp., illus. 1925. [Mimeographed.]
EXCESSIVE STOCKING 167
Even on good short-grass plains range of eastern Montana, lower
calf crops and poor development of calves are clear indications of
overstocking. Sixty young cows have been grazed for over 3 years
on experimental range pastures at the United States Range Livestock
Experiment Station near Miles City, Mont., under the supervision of
the Forest Service in cooperation with the Bureau of Animal In-
dustry. All ranges were in good condition at the start. Twenty of
these cows have grazed 23 acres per cow per year, and this is con-
sidered to be approximately a 25-percent overstocking. Their aver-
age calf crop for the 3-year period 1933 to 1935, inclusive, has been
70.0 percent, in contrast to 81.7 percent from the 40 cows on more
conservatively grazed pastures. Net calf production in pounds per
cow has been 194.5 pounds for the 23-acre-per-head group and 264.3
for the groups on more conservatively grazed range a severe pen-
alty for such overstocking, even though range depletion in this in-
stance was very slight until the 1934 drought.
A slight loss in weight of the cows, such as prevailed on the over-
stocked range pastures, and even the lower calf weights, are often
not recognized by stockmen. Furthermore, on some ranges sec-
ondary species, while not as palatable, may be almost as nutritious
as the more palatable species. Accordingly, slight deterioration of
range may not be sufficiently reflected in the condition of the live-
stock for stockmen to realize the injury that overstocking is doing
to the range and through it to their own ultimate well-being.
Such increase, if any, as has occurred in meat and wool production
in the Western States has been principally due to changes in class
and age of livestock, improved breeding, increased feeding, and
other production factors, rather than because of maintenance or
improvement of range feed. During the latter part of the nineteenth
century, 4- and 5-year-old steers were commonly shipped, grass-fat,
from ranges; at present, breeding cows predominate on the range.
Calves are often sold in the fall or yearlings are marketed in spring
or fall, especially in the Southwest. In other places many steers
are held over until they are 2 or 3 years of age. During the early
years of the western sheep industry, wethers predominated on the
range. Later, as the public taste for lamb increased and as wool
prices fell, the wether herds gave way to those made up of breeding
ewes from which fat or feeder lambs are marketed. Furthermore,
there has been a marked improvement, especially in the last 20 years,
in the grade and type of animals grazed. Scrub bulls and rams
have practically disappeared from the range country, being sup-
planted largely by purebreds or very high-grade sires. Herds are
culled closely. The net result has been a greater production per
animal. Wool production per animal has about doubled in the last
50 years.
On many range areas, however, much of the advantage to be gained
from the improved breeding and other livestock management has
been lost. To develop well, the better bred animals require ade-
quate feed. In many years calves are stunted, lambs must be sold
as low-grade feeders rather than as killers, and wool production is
hampered by scant and uncertain range feed supplies. In drought
years the situation often becomes acute ; heavy starvation losses occur
in the breeding herd and well-bred breeding cows are sacrificed at
168 THE WESTERN RANGE
forced sale. Usually the unfavorable range conditions are not so
severe on sheep, although herds have been decimated by feed shortage
from drought and severe winters. Thus, years of careful breeding
may be lost in a single year because of range feed shortage from
excessive stocking and range depletion.
CAUSES or EXCESSIVE STOCKING
The causes of excessive stocking include : Competition for the use
of range lands ; the stockman's belief that profits result from maxi-
mum numbers grazed; permitting ranges to suffer in the attempt
to reduce expenses ; stocking on the basis of better years ; restocking
too soon after drought; pressure to graze maximum numbers on
public ranges; the failure of certain public agencies to face their
conservation responsibility; and finally, a lack of realization of the
consequences.
COMPETITION FOR RANGE
On unregulated public domain and the intermingled uncontrolled
private and State land, the possession of the range has been largely
dependent upon such heavy use that even though a stockman might
desire to reserve range forage for contingencies, to do so would
simply invite others to come in. Accordingly, the resident stock-
man has stocked his range excessively to keep the forage reasonably
well grazed as it grew. Since many small tracts of private- and
State-owned land are intermixed with unregulated public domain,
the unrestricted use which has prevailed on the 149 million acres of
usable range on the public domain has affected probably 150 million
acres in addition. Even with the establishing of 80 million acres
of grazing districts under the Grazing Act, doubtless more than
100 million acres of intermingled ownerships will still be open to
grazing use by all comers and will continue to be excessively stocked
until provision is made for its management.
STOCKMEN BELIEVE PROFITS DEPEND ON NUMBERS
Stockmen primarily concerned with making ends meet or in mak-
ing a profit, to which they are justly entitled, generally believe, even
in the face of periodic financial difficulties, that the greatest financial
return results from grazing the maximum number of livestock on
the range. When high prices prevail they sometimes hold surplus
breeding stock on already crowded ranges in an effort to increase
production. On the other hand, when prices are low they often
attempt to carry over salable animals for a higher market, with
inevitable overstocking of the range. Loans usually have been negoti-
ated on livestock numbers almost regardless of costs, ability of the
range to support the number grazed, or net production. In some
instances loaning agencies have unwittingly encouraged overstocking
when prices have declined by requesting stockmen to retain young
salable breeding stock in order to reduce the per head value of the
loan. By so doing they have overstocked and often undermined the
range forage resource which, in the last analysis, supports the loan.
EXCESSIVE STOCKING 169
PERMITTING RANGES TO SUFFER TO REDUCE EXPENSES
Ranges are permitted to suffer in the attempt to reduce expenses.
The relatively high cost of supplemental feed, especially on areas
where it is not abundant, leads to turning livestock on ranges before
forage plants have attained sufficient growth to prevent injury. Sim-
ilarly it leads owners to leave stock on the range so late in the fall
and winter that trampling may do severe damage to saturated soil.
Such practices are common throughout the West. In Utah and Idaho
they have seriously impaired the grazing value of millions of acres
of spring-fall range.
STOCKING ON BASIS OF BETTER TEARS
In years of good rainfall and favorable climate, the forage on the
range makes a good growth and livestock do well as long as abundant
feed lasts. This naturally encourages users to make the most of the
available feed and inevitably leads to excessive stocking when forage
production drops in dry years. In view of the deterioration which
such heavy stocking in dry years brings about, as has already been
discussed in connection with the effects of climatic variations, it
would seem that the fallacy of stocking ranges on the basis of feed
production in good years would be evident and that definite provi-
sion would be made for leaving a substantial margin of range feed
in the average or better year. Still, many users stock on the basis of
the better years, hope for rain, and, when the range deteriorates
from overstocking and average rainfall consequently fails to produce
the forage they expect, believe they are in a drought period.
RESTOCKING TOO SOON AFTER DROUGHT
Climatic changes have a way of playing tricks with the vegetation
that are sometimes deceptive. As pointed out in the discussion of
climate, the stand of perennial grasses is less dense in the year fol-
lowing a drought than during the drought year itself. When un-
usually favorable rainfall follows a drought year, as is sometimes
the case, the reduced stand of vegetation makes an exceptional height
growth and appears to be abundant. This often leads to prompt
restocking. Too many livestock at that time may so closely utilize
the forage as to seriously affect recovery from the drought.
PRESSURE ON PUBLIC RANGE OFFICIALS
On publicly regulated range such as on the national forests, many
permittees exert constant pressure to be allowed larger numbers than
they are now permitted. Some challenge reductions necessary to
control overgrazing, even when they realize that the ranges are suf-
fering from overuse. The hope always exists that climatic condi-
tions will bring better feed the following year. This desire to pre-
vent reduction in livestock numbers regardless of overstocking has
even crept into the provisions of the Grazing Act.
170 THE WESTERN RANGE
SOME AGENCIES HAVE NOT FACED THEIR CONSERVATION RESPONSIBILITY
Grazing leases of State lands and on certain Federal reservations
have been made without adequate thought for perpetuation of the
resource. Ordinarily, there has been lack of knowledge of actual
conditions on the range and either inadequate or complete absence
of inspection of actual use and management of the lands adminis-
tered. The net result has generally been the grazing of more live-
stock than the range could support on a sustained basis.
Many leases of such lands provide for the continued grazing of
the number then grazing on the range or for the average number
which have grazed over a period of years. Such stocking is often
spoken of as grazing capacity, and is sometimes used without field
check of range conditions as a basis for proposed adjustments. If
range forage has been adequately maintained, average numbers
grazed furnish an excellent criterion. If, however, through over-
stocking, the value of the range has greatly declined, there can be
no assurance that the range will continue to carry the number pre-
viously grazed. In fact, continued grazing of the same number
will simply accentuate the degree of overstocking and intensify
range deterioration. Often under such conditions a drastic reduc-
tion in livestock of one-fourth, one-half, or even three-fourths may
be necessary to check further deterioration and start recovery.
LACK OF REALIZATION OF CONSEQUENCES
Stockmen are apt to overestimate the grazing capacity of their
owned, leased, or publicly controlled land because of lack of know-
ledge of what the range will support on a sustained basis or be-
cause of a failure to take into consideration all of the factors in-
volved. There is a lack of adequate knowledge of just what grazing
capacity is and of simple measures to determine it. This is a fertile
field for research.
The public also fails, generally, to recognize the serious conse-
quences of overstocking to the livestock industry and to community
welfare, or to take prompt action after recognition. Here in the
United States the whole social system has been built upon individual
initiative and action, a vital factor in development but an encourage-
ment to destructive exploitation. For years the unreserved public
domain has been a grazing common. Now and then the injured
public, on their own volition, took action to correct some particu-
larly bad situation, such as the closing of the Manti Canyon water-
shed to sheep grazing about 1900 after disastrous floods had caused
great damage in the town of Manti (108). The establishment of the
national forests came in an effort to protect forests and mountain
watersheds in the public interest. Many additions of range lands
have also been made to national forests at the request of users or the
interested public to protect more adequately the resource values for
community benefit. However, even though conditions on the majority
of range lands have continued to affect community welfare seriously,
the interested public has hesitated to take action.
EXCESSIVE STOCKING 171
OVERCOMING EXCESSIVE STOCKING NOT INSURMOUNTABLE
With several hundred million acres excessively stocked and seri-
ously depleted, the stemming of potential range destruction may
seem like a hopeless task. Although the situation was rather critical
in 1934, during that year the drought, depressed prices, and purchases
by the Federal Government of drought-stricken livestock greatly
reduced livestock population. However, numbers of livestock in-
creased during 1935 on many ranges. True, shipments from ranges
and starvation losses have been so large that conservative increases
can be made in limited localities within the next few years after
the ranges recover from their present impaired productivity. In
most cases, however, the break-down of ranges from past overstock-
ing and the recent drought is so great that livestock on range lands
still exceed the grazing capacity by approximately 62 percent and
will have to be reduced by 38 percent in order to overcome the over-
stocking. Ways and means of developing an understanding of the
proper basis for stocking to sustain production of forage and live-
stock, a willingness on the part of users to adjust stocking to safe-
guard against impairing production, and regulation of public ranges
which will protect them against abuse are features which will need
consideration in order to overcome excessive stocking now prevailing.
RULE-OF-THUMB MANAGEMENT
By M. W. TALBOT, Senior Forest Ecologist, California Forest and Kange
Experiment Station
As the frontier retreated westward into a land of no fences and
few familiar kinds of forage, the wide expanses of inviting range
brought both rich opportunities and a host of knotty problems. As
great numbers of cows and sheep pressed upon the heels of the van-
ishing buffalo and swarmed over the free-grass country, a unique
brand of thought and attitude evolved. This western range philos-
ophy was quite logically the outcome of the challenge of a strange
environment to the sturdy pioneer stockman and of his attempts to
adapt his growing needs to the strange conditions.
The early stockman had to develop a whole new system of range
husbandry. In the absence of adequate experience or research facts,
management of the grazing resource developed largely and quite
naturally from a basis of rule-of-thumb. Thus the term implies
all the sundry kinds of range practices that had their beginning in
the stern necessities of pioneer times and that, in varying degree, still
persist. Many of these practices, backed by excellent judgment, have
stood the test of years. Noteworthy are riding, roping, branding,
etc. the whole technique of handling livestock, in which high pro-
ficiency has been attained.
Many other practices, however, have led to range depletion and
consequently have proved to be unsound from the standpoint of per-
petuation of the range resource and its other public values. For
these practices the stockman must share the blame. Still, in exam-
ining them for clues to their correction, one must recognize that the
stockman has been in the grip of powerful economic forces to a
varying but considerable degree. It was inevitable that many indi-
viduals confronted with the problem of making a living would be
led into range practices that are, in the end, damaging to the land.
Just how, then, have these defective practices operated?
HARMFUL PRACTICES EVOLVED BY RULE-OF-THUMB
TOO MANY ANIMALS ON THE RANGE
Most range deterioration can be traced back to the attempt to
graze more animals than the land can safely support from year to
year. Drought, lack of knowledge of what the range will stand,
the urge for greatest immediate profit, economic pressures, and other
contributing factors have all played a part. But most of these have
been expressed in terms of overstocking, which still looms as the
most spectacularly destructive of rule-of-thumb practices. Because
of its high importance as a major factor in depletion, the preceding
section of this report has been devoted to a detailed discussion of its
widespread occurrence, its various causes, and its destructive effects.
173
174 THE WESTERN RANGE
FAULTY DISTRIBUTION OF LIVESTOCK
Uniform grazing over all parts of the average western range unit
is rarely obtainable because of variations in topography, timber or
brush cover, kind of forage, location of watering places, and similar
differences. Certain parts of a range are thus grazed more heavily
than others; these are the critical spots or tension zones in which
range damage has been most pronounced.
CONGESTION OF LIVESTOCK IN VALLEYS
Crowding of choice range is partially explained by the fact that
most western ranges produce "pie" or "ice cream" forage, as well as
"hardtack." Livestock prefer the lush forage of mountain meadows,
for example, to the drier bunchgrass on surrounding timbered or
brushy slopes. Moreover, cattle tend to drift to the more accessible,
comparatively open, and usually better watered meadows, neglecting
the outlying feed; and sheep are more easily herded in the open
areas. Allotting livestock to ranges on the basis of the forage crop
on their total acreage has thus quite obviously meant excessive num-
bers of animals on the comparatively small meadows, canyon bot-
toms, and other areas of choice feed. The inevitable results, over-
grazing, reduced forage crop, increased erosion, and impaired water-
shed value, can be illustrated by two examples.
A spectacular illustration is the Canada de los Alamos, a privately
owned meadow in the Santa Barbara National Forest, Calif. In
1880 a horse could step across the tiny creek meandering through
this valley. Depletion of the vegetation carpet through continual
overgrazing, combined with occasional rainstorms of great intensity,
have brought about a striking change of scene a great "barranca"
(gully) 100 feet deep, 200 feet wide, and several miles long; an aban-
doned ranch house menaced by the encroaching arroyo ; and perma-
nent depletion of range values through lessened valley-floor water
and volume of forage.
An historic stage-stop on one of the early emigrant routes fur-
nishes an even more convincing example of range destruction.
Mountain Meadows, Utah, at the time of first settlement in 1862 was
a fertile sod-bound valley of several thousand acres. A recent sur-
vey by the Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station re-
veals a striking contrast as a result of man's occupancy, with his
roads, ditches, and hungry herds, practically all of the deep-soil por-
tion of the meadow has been worn and washed away, along with
most of its original grazing capacity.
As the originally intact plant cover gave way on these and many
other overgrazed areas, the most palatable forage plants disappeared
and in their place inferior or worthless plants came in and grazing
and watershed values dropped (fig. 58) .
Equally serious is the "cracking under the strain" of small and
inconspicuous mountain meadows ranging upward in size from 5
acres or less. Many of these in their primeval state were charac-
terized by rivulets bordered by willows and grassy glades. Here, as
in the big valleys, overgrazing was followed by thinning of sod,
killing out of the willows, cutting of gullies, lowering of the water
table, and drying of soil.
RULE-OF-THUMB MANAGEMENT
175
In appraising the significance of similar examples, which abound
throughout the West, one who has reviewed the imposing array of
evidence, locality by locality, states the conviction that serious range
erosion in the Southwest followed close on the heels of excessive
grazing by big herds on key areas (##). "The coincidence between
the introduction of large numbers of stock and the cutting of ar-
royos indicates that overgrazing precipitated this form of destruc-
tive erosion" ($3). And, in both the intermountain and southwest-
ern regions, depletion and modification of plant cover incident to and
following settlement and livestock ranching may be regarded as a
probable cause of much subsequent erosion of valleys and mountain
meadows, according to various geologists as well as foresters and
FIGURE 58. GOOD RANGE PLANTS GO OUT WITH OVERGRAZING
Long-continued overstocking of the valley range on the right has resulted in the disap-
pearance of the valuable saltbrush still abundant on the protected range across the
fence, a thinning of sod, and an increase in small worthless shrubs. The net result
is greatly reduced grazing capacity.
range technicians (10, 51, 62). The net result of overgrazing caused
by poor distribution of stock has been the same, in varying degree,
on thousands of valleys and mountain meadows throughout the West.
EXCESSIVE USE OF SHEEP BED GROUNDS. AND CLOSE HEEDING
Prohibited on the national-forest grazing grounds and the more
closely supervised privately owned ranges, excessive use of sheep
bed grounds and camps is still prevalent on unregulated portions
of the public domain and on many private ranges, more particu-
larly those of absentee owners, in spite of the fact that its evils have
been quite apparent for over a third of a century (38, 1^8). The usual
explanation is that the herding of sheep is somewhat easier from
semipermanent camps, the use of which reduces the inconvenience
of moving camp every 3 days, or oftener. Too frequently, there-
fore, the tendency has been to use the same camp for many nights
176 THE WESTERN RANGE
in succession, trailing the bands of sheep back and forth between
the overused bed ground (adjacent to camp) and the outlying feed.
In consequence, before the camp is finally moved, the bed ground and
a needlessly large surrounding area has been severely trampled and
grazed in extreme cases even partially denuded, with the result-
ant loss not only of grazing capacity but also of much valuable
topsoil from areas "grazed into the ground" year after year.
Much range damage also has been caused by closely massed herds
of hurried jostling animals forced to graze in crowded compact
bunches. With close herding feed is wasted through unavoidable
trampling, and strain is increased on key portions of the range
which usually are most in need of protection. To this extent close
herding leads to the same evils as prolonged use of bed grounds.
Furthermore, unnecessary trailing by either sheep or cattle has
caused great wear and tear on the soil-binding plant cover of swales
and valleys. In little paths or trails the grass wears through to the
soil. Down the deepening trails the water "first crept, then ran, and
finally tore * * *" until great washes were formed the gullies
and arroyos which have seamed and scarred the western ranges in
every direction.
INADEQUATE OR POORLY LOCATED WATERING PLACES
An insufficiency of stock waters, a condition found on much of
the semiarid western grazing grounds (13), leads to excessive tram-
pling about the water and increased trailing between water and feed
(139). The destructive effect on the range is illustrated by condi-
tions around a well in Millard County, Utah, on winter range where
watering places were too far apart. Excessive numbers of sheep
had been watered here for 8 years. Within a radius of 1,000 feet
only 4.3 percent as much grass remains as on similar range 15,000 feet
distant. Even within a 2,000- foot radius the forage has been reduced
to about one-sixth of that on the more distant range, and the highly
palatable plants have been obliterated.
As a result of depletion in its various aspects not only has the
plant cover around this watering place been made much thinner
and the soil exposed to wind and water erosion, but the vigorous
invasion of low-quality forage plants on the desert subjects the
valuable plants to such severe competition for moisture as to render
the establishment of young plants difficult in the last extreme.
Without reasonable reproduction it is only a matter of a few years
until the best forage in this type becomes practically extinct (136).
POOR SALTING PRACTICES
The pounding of overgrazed spots is aggravated by obsolete salt-
ing practices, because salting only at the watering places, or in
other places where stock are likely to "bunch up", nullifies any pos-
sibility of attracting cattle into areas of unused or lightly used
forage. Experimental work, careful observations, and studies of
existing practices of progressive stockmen on national forests and
many private ranges have pointed out that salt is a "cheap cowboy."
Systematic salting can be used to lessen undue bunching and over-
grazing on areas where the animals tend to congregate (32, 39, 79) .
RULE-OF-THUMB MANAGEMENT 177
To the degree to which no advantage has been taken of this pro-
gressive handling measure for effecting proper distribution of stock,
inadequate salting practices have contributed their share to range
depletion.
IMPROPER SEASON OF USE INJURES THE RANGE
Too early spring grazing on mountain ranges, another cause of
local rang depreciation, is an outgrowth of the insufficiency of
spring range adjoining mountain communities, such as the Spanish-
American settlements clustered around the base of the Sangre de
Christo Mountains of northern New Mexico, and many others. In
the early spring the stockmen, confronted with exhaustion of winter
forage, with a limited ability to obtain more supplemental feed,
and often the necessity to move stock off the home ranch stubble-
fields and meadows in time for plowing and irrigating, have been
insistent on turning stock into the high mountain areas as soon as
the first green grass appeared in the wake of the receding snow
banks. How to bridge this gap in the feed supply still remains an
exceedingly difficult problem shared by national-forest adminis-
trators and by hundreds of stockmen throughout the West. Illus-
trative of this difficulty is the fact that proper seasonal use still
needs to be brought about on approximately 12 percent of the 9,000
grazing units on national-forest ranges.
To the individual operator, the risk of range injury, if considered
at all, usually has been regarded as outweighed by the economic
necessity. That early spring injury has been occurring for years
on years, however, is shown among others by results of studies in
Utah (116), in Colorado (65), and in North Dakota (119), as well
as by much general observation elsewhere through the West. When
cattle are allowed to "follow the snow" and forage is cropped "as
soon as it pokes its nose out of the ground" no plant factory is left
to manufacture food to replace that gradually sapped from the
scant supplies still stored in the roots in spring. Further injury to
both plants and range results from trampling of saturated soils.
It is of especial interest to note that the detrimental effects of
summer invasions of Montana winter range by herds and flocks
another example of improper season of use was referred to, as
early as 1900, as "the denuding summer pasturing" (Ifl).
Risk of damage to range and loss of condition of animals also is
usually incurred in any attempt to graze short-season ranges for a
longer period. For example, on certain California foothills, chiefly
valuable for fall, winter, and spring grazing, the short-lived annual
forage dries to a crisp in May, and during the long practically rain-
less summer provides an unsatisfactory ration deficient in vitamin A
(68), and certain minerals, particularly calcium and phosphorous
a deficiency usually associated also with low protein (67). If such
ranges are grazed yearlong not only is it usually necessary to sup-
plement them to prevent serious loss in animal condition; but, in
addition, little or no old grass remains on the "slicked-off slopes"
at the beginning of the fall rains, to retard erosion.
Full-season use of the browse ranges of southwestern Utah areas
better adapted to late spring and fall grazing is followed by a
6494636 13
178 THE WESTERN KANGE
gradually diminishing stand of the most palatable bushes (53)
another illustration of grazing at the wrong time of year.
The time of grazing has much to do with livestock damage to
timber on the Coconino Plateau of Northern Arizona, according
to studies of the Southwestern Forest and Range Experiment Sta-
tion. Most of the grazing injury from browsing of terminal shoots
of ponderosa pine "reproduction" 16 occurs when the proportion of
succulent forage is smallest. This condition exists each year during
two dry seasons, the first from the opening of the grazing period
about June 1 to the beginning of the summer rains in early July,
and the second and shorter period extending from about the first
of October to the end of the grazing season. Lack of proper consid-
eration of the amount of succulent forage available during these
critical dry periods has been the principal cause of damage to the
regenerating forest. This appears to be even a more important
cause than shortage or poor distribution of water.
POOR BALANCE BETWEEN CLASSES OF ANIMALS AND TYPE OF RANGE
Local failure to allocate ranges to the class of stock to which they
are best suited reacts unfavorably on both stock and range. Illustra-
tions of such maladjustments, as they affect ranges, include (1) plac-
ing cattle on ranges so rocky and rugged that animals become foot-
sore, calf crops are reduced, and the most accessible areas are
overgrazed (79) ; and (2) vainly attempting to get full utilization
with cattle of ranges supplied with sufficient water for sheep but
not enough for cattle.
Sheep, for example, require water less frequently than cattle 17
(75), and consequently can travel farther between feed and water.
From the standpoint of forage alone, full stocking of such areas
with cattle is inevitably reflected in enlargement of the trampled-
out areas around water, increased soil washing, and reduced grazing
capacity the same chain of destructive results discussed in detail in
foregoing paragraphs.
Placing both cattle and sheep on the same range usually is equiva-
lent to double use, with its attendant evils. The principle of this
so-called "common use" originated from the belief that full utiliza-
tion of all the forage (maximum grazing capacity) could best be
attained by grazing on the same range two or more classes of live-
stock in numbers corresponding to the quantity of forage that could
be used by each class. On numerous ranges where all conditions
have been favorable, common use has worked (79). In too many
instances in actual practice the attempt at common use has cul-
minated in double use and in overgrazing in varying degree. To
just that degree the practice, as it concerns domestic livestock, has
proved injurious.
Dual use by domestic livestock and game likewise requires planned
regulation to avoid detrimental overuse. In general, there is ample
summer range on western forests for present numbers of game ani-
mals, and in most cases for increases, without conflict with domestic
livestock (15 h pp. 527-554). A general deficiency exists, however,
16 Small trees between the seedling and sapling stages.
17 United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. Report of the District
Investigate Committee, District 3. 134 pp. 1930. [Mimeographed.]
RULE-OF-THUMB MANAGEMENT 179
in winter range, which includes several million acres of public
domain, a large but unknown acreage of privately owned wild land,
and the lower fringes of national forests, national parks, and State
parks. Much of this winter range for deer, elk, and antelope is
badly overgrazed (14$) , the results being similar to those caused by
livestock alone. The spectacular examples that have aroused
national interest and concern, illustrate the problems.
The deer herd on the Kaibab National Forest in Arizona increased
so rapidly with complete protection that within 5 years after the
peak had been reached about 1924 18 , and despite a heavy reduction
in livestock, the productive capacity of much of the winter range
had dwindled to 5 or 10 percent of the normal forage supply (15^
pp. 489^525).
The second example concerns the Sun River elk herd on the
Lewis and Clark National Forest in Montana, which reached an
estimated total of 4,600 in 1930, with available winter range badly
overgrazed. Severe winters, hunting, and other causes have re-
duced the total to about 3,000 head; but, in spite of a reduction of
78 percent of the domestic livestock on the area, further adjustments
must still be made to halt the damage.
THE EFFECT OF BURNING ON FORAGE PRODUCTION
Any painstaking analysis of the vexing problem of burning and
forage production on the so-called "brush ranges" of the West re-
veals two major causes: (1) Local confusion and even misunder-
standing because of lack of accepted facts on critical phases of the
problem; and (2) the occasional inevitable clash of two schools of
thought. One group includes some stockmen and others who are
faced with the problems of making a living off the range land and
have only a mild or secondary interest and concern in its public
values. Perpetuation of the basic resources, however, is the obliga-
tion of other groups. Quite sincere differences of individual and
group opinion are thus involved.
Whether to burn chamise and chaparral lands in California, for
example, is a question that has received much general empirical
study and observation, supplemented on certain points by detailed
studies, chiefly by A. W. Sampson, of the University of California.
As temporary advantages of burning "brush" lands, the findings
of these studies include, among others, a usual increase in volume
of forage and a longer period of succulence for the first year and
to a lesser extent during the second year after the fire. Proponents
of burning consequently minimize the disadvantages, taking the
position that the increase in forage more than compensates for any
injury to the range resource.
As an offsetting detrimental finding, however, the increased
amount of forage on "burns" is not only very temporary but it is
usually obtained through the barter of fertile soil ; for soil erosion
is increased by burning on the steeper, rougher areas. For these
reasons, conservation groups and administrators charged with main-
taining productivity of these lands, most of which are included in
18 Mann, W. G., and Locke, S. B. The Kaibab Deer, a Brief History and Recent
Developments. U. S. Dept. Agr. 67 pp., illus. 1931. [Mimeographed.]
180 THE WESTERN RANGE
important watersheds, hold the view that on most areas serious in-
jury to the range soil, to the watersheds, and to other public and
long-time values outweighs the temporary value of the increased
forage.
With reference to sagebrush ranges, observations by Pickford
(104) in the Intermountain Region, indicated that promiscuous
burning followed by unregulated grazing tends to deplete the stand
of perennial grasses and to allow inferior annual grasses to increase
in abundance.
The further point should be made clear that many stockmen
apply the term "brush range" not only to the chaparral-covered
foothills or to sagebrush plains, but also to ranges in the ponderosa
pine type in which young timber has crowded out livestock forage
in varying degree. In order to hold and increase the area available
for grazing, stockmen occasionally have favored burning of such
commercial timberlands. The damage resulting from such a prac-
tice is great.
In mature timber not only is there a large direct loss in volume
but subsequent loss results from decreased growth and from fungous
and insect damage (129). A more serious result from the burning
of cut-over lands is the progressive destruction of both small and
established tree seedlings and the "taking over" of large areas by
dense stands of worthless brush. For example, of 13.6 million acres
comprising the largest part of the California pine region, 1.9 million
acres of potential timber land are now brush fields resulting from
fires (128).
And of even more far-reaching importance is the fact that re-
peated burning of mountain timberlands enormously increases ero-
sion of the fertile topsoil, a fact demonstrated by the California
Forest and Range Experiment Station and other agencies. As an
illustration, based on actual measurements from experimental plots in
one locality, run-off from bare burned soil was shown to be 3 to 30
times greater than that from adjacent forest-covered soil; and the
erosion 100 to 1,000 times greater, the higher rates coinciding with
higher intensities of rainfall.
COMBINED EFFECTS OF UNSOUND RULE-OF-THUMB PRACTICES
The foregoing factors in depletion resulting from rule-of-thumb
management have brought about sadly reduced forage values in all
parts of the West. Fully half of the western range area, according
to recent estimates, is now characterized by severe or extreme deple-
tion as given in detail on page 114 and summarized in figure 59. For
example, on open desert ranges in Nevada forage attains only 49
percent of its former value; in Utah, 36 percent; and in the Red
Desert of Wyoming, 43 percent of that in the remnants of protected
range that are still left, as shown by surveys made by the Inter-
mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. Moreover, even
the protected fragments are thought to be less productive than was
the virgin range. This depletion is recognized by resident stockmen
who have operated 20 to 50 years on one or the other of these three
range units. The older range users have estimated reductions of
20 to 80 percent from the original condition, the amount of their
estimated reductions corresponding in general to the time they have
EULE-OF-THUMB MANAGEMENT
181
used the range. The story is similar in various other types of west-
ern range.
Such heavy reductions in forage values constitute a heavy blow
to the grazing industry, because the salt-desert-shrub type is the
principal winter range over extensive areas in the intermountain
region. Even in their depleted condition, these desert ranges sup-
port nearly 2 million sheep from 4 to 6 winter months in Utah ; more
than a million use them for 3 to 5 months in central Nevada; and
probably 2 million use them for 3 to 5 months in Wyoming and
Colorado.
How much of the present alarming condition may fairly be
charged to the rule-of -thumb basis of attempted management, and
how much to drought and other causes? Adverse climate has peri-
DEPLETION
CLASS
AREA IN EACH CLASS
Moderate
(0-25 %)
Material
(26-50 ^o)
Severe
(51 - 75 <7o)
Extreme
(76 + <7o)
1
y//////////////^^^^
imm
-
10 20 30 40 5C
PERCENT
FIGURE 59. REDUCED GRAZING CAPACITY OF WESTERN RANGE
Less than one-seventh Is still in comparatively satisfactory condition, and this portion is
more than outweighed by the area on which most of the values have been lost.
odically been a potent contributing factor in the temporary depre-
ciation of many range areas; for, as earlier explained, climatic fluc-
tuations affect in pronounced degree both range forage and pro-
ductivity. Drought reflected in a reduced forage crop quickly con-
verts what is normally a proper stocking into excessive stocking, and
intensifies the damage to ranges already too heavily stocked. But
this depletion due to drought alone is only temporary, as explained
in a foregoing section ; for drought-stricken ranges recover following
the return of favorable growing conditions unless the drought is
accompanied (as in recent years it almost invariably has been) by
excessive stocking or other bad practices. So, in the long run, it is
these rule-of-thumb practices not climate which cause ranges to
break down.
This conclusion is further strengthened by the especially signifi-
cant fact that range depletion is rather closely tied in with the class
182 THE WESTEKN KANGE
of land ownership, range deterioration being generally greatest on
unregulated, publicly owned lands as well as on the majority of
those privately owned ; and least on publicly owned areas under reg-
ulation and on the notable exceptions of well-managed private hold-
ings. This is not surprising for, as explained later on in this
chapter, financial difficulties brought about by overcapitalization,
onerous credit facilities, and unstable and fluctuating markets have
contributed in no small way to poor husbandry, range exploitation,
and the inevitable consequence range depletion, on free public range
and most privately owned range.
Most depletion, then, results directly from overgrazing, which in
turn has its origin in defective range -management practices as just
explained. The exact amount of depletion properly attributable to
these rule-of -thumb practices cannot of course be accurately weighed,
but the contrast between the most depleted classes of land and those
least depleted affords a rough approximation of the net contribu-
tion of rule-of -thumb practices to range deterioration.
REASONS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF RULE-OF-THUMB PRACTICES
The evil effects on western ranges from all injurious forces com-
bined, have just been outlined. In considering even briefly the wide-
spread damage one naturally wonders : "Why did it all come about?"
Back of this question lie explanations of peculiar interest in them-
selves, reflecting as they do certain pioneer pages of western history
that have passed. Of more immediate importance, however, is the
help that the underlying reasons offer in planning how to recapture
the disappearing values. Why, then, have many stockmen continued
practices that tend to wreck the basis of the industry on which they
are dependent?
During the early pioneer years at least, it is doubtful whether
any appreciable concern was felt regarding the possibility of dam-
aging the range. Later, as competition for forage tightened, along
with the conflicts between sheep and cattle and between stockmen
and "nesters", the dominant effort of most stockmen to gain or
retain control of the range overshadowed any thought of resultant
damage, and led even at times to the malicious "trampling into dust"
of areas of feed, to drive back crowding neighbors, or in retaliation.
No responsibility was felt for preserving the ranges for the future.
As Barnes (14) points out, it was all free, open grazing; Uncle
Sam owned it, and "it was a clear case of first come first served
and the devil take the hindmost" virtually the motto of that period.
And, permeating each and every chapter of the story of the range
even to the present maximum immediate profit rather than main-
tained range productivity usually has been the accepted individual
aim. Proper management may also be hindered by local conditions.
For example, stockmen using the unregulated public domain, are
still to a considerable degree, forced deliberately to overgraze the
range in order to discourage competition.
Moreover, vastness of open range and abundance of forage at
time of first settlement discounted any need for concern. Perhaps,
however, in the words of Barnes :
The stockmen of those pioneer days should not be held to too strict an
accountability for their range practices. It was all a new proposition to them.
KULE-OF-THUMB MANAGEMENT
183
Few of them knew the first rudiments of forage growth or plant requirements.
They mostly grew up with the pioneer idea that when the feed in a certain
region was gone there was more "over the range" to which they could move
their herds and flocks.
In a surprisingly large number of instances stockmen did not real-
ize the wide differences in range-plant palatability a vital founda-
tion stone of safe grazing capacity. When all the choice range had
been taken up and overstocking and other rule-of -thumb practices,
together with drought, began to take their combined toll, range
depletion continued without any general realization on the part of
stockmen that the range could not withstand the severe treatment
indefinitely. Most of them failed to take into account the penalty
of guessing at grazing capacity and the forage-crop ups and downs
resulting from climatic fluctuations.
The delicate balance between climate and vegetation was com-
pletely unknown to stockmen and the interested public, and both
were lulled into a false sense of resource security. Therefore, when
unexpected drought set the stage for range break-down, the attend-
ant livestock losses were bemoaned, but complacent faith was, and
still is pinned to perhaps the greatest fallacy in range land the
far-too-prevalent belief that "one good rainy year will bring the
ranges back." Studies to date indicate precisely the contrary result
in many western range types where the important forage plants are
dependent upon seed for their perpetuation. A convincing illus-
tration of the slow recovery of bunchgrass types is furnished by
Forest Service records from 1912 to 1935 from 50 quadrats on Ari-
zona pine ranges that were overgrazed when established. None of
these regained maximum forage density in 12 years under fence and
four-fifths of them had not entirely recovered after 21 years of
protection.
Then, too, much range damage in its early and often obscure
stages occurred undetected, because the average stockman, in most
ways a keen observer, was not looking for it. Moreover, in many
places the first danger signs, such as incipient erosion and a slight
increase in inferior range weeds, were not always reflected imme-
diately in livestock condition. Finally, there was a lack of deple-
tion "yardsticks" criteria by which the significance of these first
changes could be understood.
Locally, observant stockmen, of course, did realize the full import
of these changes and r long time ago. The secretary of the Cali-
fornia Wool Growers' Association, for example, in writing in 1863
of conditions in that State (101) alluded to sheep ranges:
Where the lands have been so persistently overstocked [that] the herbage
has necessarily become thinner and thinner * * *. This process of depas-
turage, though not confined to any one species of herbage, is most strikingly
exhibited in the great oat ranges. * * * This system of stocking the graz-
ing lands must ultimately result in their entire depasturage. * * *
Thus a note of alarm regarding overstocking and range decline in
one region, the Pacific coast, was sounded from within the livestock
industry itself nearly three-quarters of a century ago.
Even when recognized, damage has frequently been tolerated by
private owners because of economic pressure, including such policies
as the deliberate holding over of excess numbers of animals for
another year because of poor markets; taking a chance on a little
184 THE WESTERN RANGE
range damage in order to save money on costly feed; and pushing
herds onto mountain ranges too early in the spring before the range
was ready for grazing. Locally, many national-forest range areas
likewise have suffered through attempts to relieve temporarily the
strain on the local stockmen and local communities, in response to
strong pressure during emergency periods of feed scarcity ; and from
the added strain of increasing livestock in an effort to increase meat
production in 1918.
Finally, in a review of the reasons underlying past range practices,
one must keep in mind that the pioneer stockman was forced to
improvise untried rules. Previous husbandry developed in eastern
agriculture on comparatively small areas, with more uniform forage
types, and more gentle stock under fenced control fell flat when it-
came to handling sheep in bands as large as 3,000 head (98) ; tens
of thousands of cattle in single ownership, and in at least one
instance the almost incredible total of 150,000 head (US). Both
classes of stock had to be handled over ranges extending from the
smooth to the inaccessibly rough and from sea level to elevations
above 12,000 feet, characterized by wide extremes of climate, and
supporting hundreds of strange forage plants. New complex situa-
tions had to be met, and promptly. Rule-of -thumb methods quite
naturally were resorted to by stockmen, and to some extent have been
retained by public-land administrators in the absence of sufficient
proved facts.
Even had more tested experimental results been available, a lag in
their application was perhaps inevitable, especially on the part of
the pioneer who, in the main, was the sturdy confident type that
pushed back frontiers. One must keep in mind that the isolation,
uncertainties, and emergencies of those times fostered reliance on
independent judgment by early ranchmen, naturally a highly inde-
pendent class who preferred opinion or practical experience to
outside counsel regarding the conduct of their business. Conse-
quently, within the industry itself there has not been any general
appreciation of the value of tested information in meeting the
changing western conditions. From this viewpoint the grazing
industry stands in sharp contrast to farming with its sustained
emphasis on research as a highly useful adjunct to practical manage-
ment. Thus the lag in range research also may be regarded as one
of the major reasons for the long-continued use of many rule-of-
thumb practices. Because of its importance it is discussed in a sepa-
rate section of this report.
THE LAG IN RESEARCH AND EXTENSION
By M. W. TALBOT, Senior Forest Ecologist, California Forest and Range Experi-
ment Station, and E. C. CRAFTS, Assistant Forest Ecologist, Southwestern
Forest and Range Experiment Station
Management of western ranges with their intricate and variable
pattern of conditions and their interlocking private and public values
is not an easy job. Livestock forage is not their only crop. They
possess, in addition, important watershed, wildlife, recreational, and
timber values. To keep pace with rapidly changing conditions
western range management already requires, in addition to the con-
tribution of sound practical experience, much detailed knowledge
not yet available. Yet, as previously pointed out, interest in basic
fact finding has lagged far more on range problems than, for in-
stance, on farming problems. As the men charged with range ad-
ministration began building up the system of regulated grazing on
public range lands, the incentive for digging out new needed facts
had to come chiefly from land-managing conservation groups. Con-
sequently, the realization of the need for range research has devel-
oped slowly.
APPRAISAL OF RANGE RESEARCH AND EXTENSION 19
Research on problems concerned with rrnge land use thus far un-
dertaken in the United States may be appraised by discussing briefly
duration of the work, character of investigations and agencies en-
gaged, expenditures, number of workers, and application of results
in range extension.
DURATION OF WORK
The United States was one of the first countries to undertake re-
search on range-land problems. Investigations by Federal and State
agencies began about 1900, 'and by 1910 eight State agricultural ex-
periment stations had each pioneered one or two projects. In 1907
the Forest Service initiated range investigations in connection with
administration of the national forests and in 1910 established the
Office of Grazing Studies. Twenty-five years earlier, however, when
the great cattle boom of the eighties was at its zenith there was an
acute but unrecognized need for research results. Had the facts been
known then concerning grazing capacity, seasonal use, and the eco-
nomic consequences of range abuse, much of the disastrous deple-
tion that began with the boom period and grew with succeeding ex-
pansion, might have been avoided. Research started about a quarter
of a century too late, and has never been on a scale commensurate
with requirements.
19 In preparing this section, reference was made to publications and unpublished records
of the Department of Agriculture, the Forest Service, the Office of Experiment Stations,
the Bureau of the Census, the Bureau of Animal Industry, the Bureau of Plant Industry,
the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, and the Western States Extension Conferences.
185
186 THE WESTERN RANGE
CHARACTER OF INVESTIGATIONS
The Forest Service, charged with departmental responsibility for
research on timbered and nontimbered ranges both within and with-
out the national forests, is the only agency that has developed a
comprehensive range-wide investigative program. Its work centers
on the range resource itself and is only incidentally concerned with
the handling of livestock. Emphasis has been on the determination
of the principal forage plants, their growth habits and forage value,
on range management, including natural revegetation and principles
of grazing use, and on the relation of range use to watershed protec-
tion. Some progress has also been made on the effects of grazing
on forest reproduction, and on plant succession how vegetation is
affected by grazing, drought, and other influences.
Forest Service range research is now confined to a limited number
of the important classes of range in five major regions in the West.
It is urgently needed, and should be extended to all the principal
classes and to the Pacific Northwest.
Eight other Federal agencies, six in the Department of Agri-
culture, either have cooperated with the Forest Service or have
worked independently on the range problems within their jurisdic-
tion. For example, the Bureau of Plant Industry in the early days
investigated certain phases of range revegetation, and more recently
has devoted increasing attention to pasture problems, development
of forage crops, and plant breeding. The Bureau of Animal In-
dustry has studied animal husbandry and poisonous plants; the
Bureau of Agricultural Economics, cost of production, ranch organ-
ization, and other range-land problems. The Biological Survey has
studied wildlife; the Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine,
insect problems; and the Bureau of Chemistry and Soils, plant
analyses and soil problems relating to range lands. The Bureau
of the Census of the Department of Commerce has for many years
collected statistical data on livestock, livestock products, pastures,
forage crops, and farms and ranches. The Tariff Commission has
conducted investigations of manufacturing costs and returns on such
range products as wool and beef cattle.
The State agricultural experiment stations in each of the 17
Western States have individually undertaken some work on a variety
of problems, centering on range management, animal husbandry, and
economics. Limited research is under way at most of the 13 col-
leges and universities that offer detailed work in grazing. The Car-
negie Institution of Washington and the Boyce Thompson Insti-
tute for Plant Eesearch have both investigated problems that bear
directly or indirectly upon range vegetation.
The research by all agencies for convenience of comparison may
be arranged in three groups. The most effort has been expended
in group 1, the least in group 3. None, however, has adequately met
the needs of the problems.
THE LAG IN RESEAKCH AND EXTENSION
187
Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
1. Eange management (systems
of grazing, livestock distribu-
tion, etc.).
2. Range botany.
3. Range animal husbandry
(breeding, supplemental
feeding, diseases, etc.).
4. Range ecology (changes in
range vegetation under va-
rious influences and treat-
ments).
1. Natural revegetation.
2. Effect of grazing on forests.
3. Range economics.
4. Artificial reseeding.
5. Nutritional value of range
plants (including chemical
analyses) .
6. Watershed management.
1. Grazing capacity.
2. Range wildlife.
3. Degree of utilization.
4. Range soils.
5. Range weather.
6. Range entomology.
7. Range plant breeding.
Both the number of agencies engaged in research on range prob-
lems and the number of range-research projects undertaken 90 by
the Forest Service and 140 by the State agricultural experiment
stations give a misleading impression of the amount of effective and
lasting work performed. Many of the agencies are interested in only
one or two local problems; and emphasis in their research, which is
often empirical in character, depends to an appreciable extent upon
individual initiative rather than upon a planned, coordinated investi-
gative program. Many of the projects, particularly in the early
days, were small part-time jobs for one man, requiring less than one
man-year of work for completion, as, for example, the chemical
analysis of a poisonous range plant. Moreover, a great deal of the
first work was as much range extension as research, consisting in
a large measure of experimental demonstrations designed to create
among range land administrators and stockmen a better understand-
ing of range problems and their important phases. A considerable
portion of the early research, although of real value at the time, was
empirical and extensive in character, and has been shown in the
light of subsequent intensive investigations to have little application
to present-day conditions except to solve local problems and to serve
as background for future studies. Effective research, that compre-
hensively attacks region-wide problems and determines urgently
needed facts, is largely a development of the last decade.
The Forest Service has effectively organized and coordinated its
effort between various problems, lines of work, and range regions.
It has recognized the national significance of range research and
planned the comprehensive range-investigative program explained
in detail later in this report.
EXPENDITURES
It has been estimated that 100 million dollars are spent annually
on research in the United States. Nineteen million was spent by
the Federal Government alone in 1933; of this, research on range
problems in all their aspects, drew not over $175,000, or less than
1 percent. An additional $75,000 was invested by State agricultural
experiment stations. In 1900, range livestock was valued at approxi-
mately 280 million dollars, but only a few hundred dollars of Federal
funds were spent in range research proper. By 1930, the range-
livestock value had increased to 770 million dollars, and about $130,-
000 was expended in Federal range research, or about 0.02 percent.
Contrast this with relative expenditures for research in some other
agricultural industry such as poultry or dairying. In 1930, the value
188
THE WESTEKN RANGE
of range livestock exceeded the value of poultry raised by 120 mil-
lion dollars and yet no more Federal money was spent for range
research than for poultry research, all of which was essential. From
1900 to 1930 the value of dairy products has consistently been from
two to two and one-half times the value of range livestock. But
during the same period Federal expenditures in dairy research have
exceeded those for range research by 350 to 400 percent. Consider-
ing the greatly increased values that have come from these dairy
studies, no one would question the desirability of continuing or even
expanding them.
Federal expenditures in research on range problems are limited
almost exclusively to the Department of Agriculture.
From incomplete estimates, the value of range livestock and cor-
responding Federal expenditures in range research expressed in
dollars and percent of value are as given in table 29.
TABLE 29. Comparison of livestock values and range research 1915-30
Year
Value of
range
livestock
Expended for Fed-
eral range research
Year
Value of
range
livestock
Expended for Fed-
eral range research
Amount
Percent
Amount
Percent
1915
$300, 000, 000
810,000,000
$50,000
75,000
0.017
.009
1925
$550, 000, 000
770, 000, 000
$100, 000
130, 000
0.018
.017
1920
1930
NUMBER OF WORKERS
There are probably less than 100 technical workers devoting their
full time to research on range problems in the United States today.
Because much of the work is not full time and varies greatly from
year to year, it is impossible to estimate accurately the total man-
years of work done in any calendar year. A generous estimate would
be 125 man-years of work annually. The Forest Service performs
about 45 of these man -years of work, other bureaus of the Depart-
ment of Agriculture about 25, the State agricultural experiment sta-
lions about 45, and the remaining 10 are scattered among colleges,
universities, and other research agencies.
Approximately 50 percent of these workers are engaged in research
on conservation and management of the range forage resource, which
includes investigations in range and watershed management, range
reseeding, range botany, etc., 20 percent are in range-animal hus-
bandry, 15 percent in range economics, largely at the State experi-
ment stations, and the remaining 15 percent are distributed in the
fields of range wildlife, range weather, range soils, and range
entomology.
RANGE EXTENSION
Range extension is the making available to stockmen and range-
land administrators by demonstrations, discussions, addresses, and
publications the results of studies and experience. Although re-
search on range land problems has been far from adequate, the re-
sults that have been obtained have not been applied on the ground
to their fullest possibilities. One main reason has been the lag in
THE LAG IN BESEAKCH AND EXTENSION 189
extension work which is the intervening step between research and
the practical application of its findings.
In the United States, range extension was to a large degree merged
with research until about 1920, and was practically nonexistent as a
distinct activity. Since 1923, when a definite range -extension pro-
gram was first formulated, the extension services of the State agricul-
tural colleges, cooperating with the State agricultural experiment
stations and the United States Department of Agriculture, have re-
ported a limited amount of work in each of the 11 Western States,
principally in animal husbandry, rodent control, and improved graz-
ing methods. Despite admirable results from the demonstrations
and other work already performed, extension specialists attribute
the pronounced lag in range extension primarily to (1) high cost
of demonstrations, which in order to be effective involve compara-
tively large areas and herds of sheep or cattle, and (2) inadequate
control and administration of the unregulated public domain, result-
ing in an indifferent attitude of many stockmen toward improved
range methods.
EXAMPLES OF NEGLECTED UNSOLVED PROBLEMS OF RANGE RESTORATION
AND MANAGEMENT
Studies undertaken to date, as thus outlined, have covered a rather
wide scope and have contributed highly useful data ; but actually they
represent a thoroughgoing attack on only a small fraction of urgent
vexing questions that constantly arise to plague the stockmen and
land administrator. Facts, clinched by convincing proof, on com-
plex and controversial points are especially inadequate for correction
of much range depletion. This serious lack of basic management in-
formation applies over a surprisingly large sweep of problems
relating to range plants, to animals, and to their environment.
What are some of these challenging management problems of both
public and privately owned grazing lands? A few examples will
indicate how far research must still go to provide an adequate basis
for their solution.
PROBLEMS OF GRAZING CAPACITY
General studies and observations on grazing capacity have for
sometime been conducted throughout the West, but intensive studies
have been started in only a few places and on a few kinds of range,
and chiefly within the last decade years after their need was pain-
fully apparent. As for other agencies, in the 17 western range
States with their multitude of different forage types and varying
management needs, only seven State agricultural experiment sta-
tions (New Mexico, Arizona, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Cal-
ifornia, and Washington) had published by 1920 results of grazing
capacity studies. Even in 1930 (15) only two additional stations
(Colorado and Texas) were undertaking even limited work in this
field (155).
Research on grazing capacity has not yet been conducted on many
important western range types.
190 THE WESTERN RANGE
THE ROLE OF VEGETATION IN WATERSHED PROTECTION
Western grazing lands no longer are valued for their forage crops
alone. In fact, on many areas, as will be made clear later in this
report, forage values are far outweighed by watershed values which
directly or indirectly affect big populations and enormous invest-
ments in agricultural and urban facilities and industries. It is im-
perative, therefore, that management of range lands that are also
watershed lands take into account their future productivity not
only of forage but also of usable water, the most valuable "crop" in
many localities of the West. The objective on such lands is a type
of management that so far as possible will harmonize grazing with
watershed needs.
Protection of watersheds, one of the primary reasons for the estab-
lishment of the national forests, has been given special consideration
by the Forest Service for 25 years and more. Noteworthy among
the findings of studies and controlled experiments which have been
conducted in several localities, is the further evidence, both vegeta-
tional and geologic, of the influence of plant cover on surface run-
off and abnormal erosion, in relation to grazing. Western ranges
and watersheds, however, comprise a complex pattern of soil, topog-
raphy, vegetation, and climate. Consequently, numerous phases of
this big problem, so closely tied in with the welfare of western com-
munities, remain unhandled.
The local and national importance of these problems pertaining
to forage-and-forest influences, discussed in detail later in this re-
port, argues for the speedy gathering of a more adequate supply
of measured facts.
KEY FORAGE PLANTS
What are the most important range plants in the various grazing
types and regions, evaluated as to their growth requirements, forage
value, or response to climate? Nelson (93) has shown, in connec-
tion with growth requirements and limits of resistance to grazing,
that utilization of black grama in excess of 80 to 85 percent of the
foliage at the end of the grazing season results in smaller forage
crops in succeeding years. But what is safe closeness of use for
many other important forage plants and types in other regions?
Also, from the dual standpoint of animal nutrition and forage main-
tenance, what is the proper season of range use, type by type ? And
again, much observational information has been gathered throughout
the West; but detailed data are available for only a few localities
and a few sets of conditions.
What is the exact effect of climate on forage plants and on forage
yield? A relatively small amount of investigation at the South-
western, Intermountain, and Northern Kocky Mountain Forest and
Range Experiment Stations, the Arizona and New Mexico Agricul-
tural Experiment Stations, and the Carnegie Institution of Wash-
ington has yielded detailed data, but on only a mere fraction of the
important range plants of the West. The species studied vary
greatly in behavior ; what about the other equally important plants
and their relation to range management ? Meager data and general
observations of protected plots have further shown the wide fluctua-
tion in forage yield and grazing damage between successive years,
THE LAG IN RESEARCH AND EXTENSION
191
but the combined range damage from drought, overgrazing, and,
locally, rodents has not been unscrambled and the causes separately
evaluated.
ARTIFICIAL REVEGETATION
What are the possibilities of successfully restoring the grazing
and watershed-protective values of depleted ranges by artificial
means when nature is too slow? The complete answer to this very
practical question is not yet known. The opportunities offered for
range revegetation by direct seeding or transplanting of native
forage species or exotics have never been adequately explored. Still,
the work already done in this field, with a limited number of plant
species, indicates considerable promise under favorable conditions
and has pointed out the need for more comprehensive testing.
Success has been attained in numerous depleted mountain mead-
ows. Obviously, however, species that are suited to high mountain
areas on which precipitation is favorable are not generally adaptable
to the more arid foothill and desert ranges at lower elevations.
What forage plants can be established successfully on depleted por-
tions of these semiarid grazing lands? What are the limitations in
site, in time, and in cost '< What possibilities are there for improving
species or strains of range plants? What are the practical tests for
determining which treatment is most practicable: (1) Artificial re-
vegetation, (2) natural restoration, or (3) a combination of the
two? The Bureau of Plant Industry and the Forest Service the
pioneers in this field, along with the several State agencies have
shown that, within limits, artificial revegetation holds much prom-
ise. But a maze of unsolved problems lies ahead.
INTERPLAY OF ANIMAL FACTORS IN THEIR EFFECT ON RANGE
Only the merest start has been made on the complex problem of
forage provision and management for game animals on livestock
ranges. Wildlife management is just beginning to receive widespread
attention from the research angle. As yet few studies have yielded
a scientific basis for dealing with large numbers of both classes of
animals. Meanwhile, local overgrazing of jointly used ranges con-
tinues.
Illustrative of the unsolved nature of problems in the wildlife
field is the difference of opinion relative to rodents. Any attempt
to evaluate rodents in relation to range at once raises the question :
Are rodents beneficial or detrimental? Or, more specifically, are
rodents, particularly pocket gophers, an essential factor in preserv-
ing the proper plant cover on the range, or are they a factor in
range depletion including erosion? Obviously, the questions have
many angles and various answers, depending on the species of rodent,
the kind of range, and other local conditions. Adequate factual
information upon which to settle these questions is lacking. Uncer-
tainty and local controversy have, of course, resulted. The greatest
immediate need is additional research concerning the life histories
of range rodents, the relations between burrowing animals and water-
shed conservation, and the influences of burrowing animals upon the
range vegetation.
192 THE WESTERN RANGE
NEED FOR SIMPLE, USABLE MEASURES OF RANGE CONDITION
In shifting attention from range animals to the range itself, one
encounters a widespread need for simple, usable measuring sticks
of range condition. This need is especially surprising in view of
the fact that considerable attention has been devoted quite logically
to the old but still moot questions : What constitutes proper utiliza-
tion? Or overgrazing? For certain types and plants, more par-
ticularly on the national forests, fairly adequate indicators of range
condition are available. In dealing with the less obvious conditions,
however, and with unfamiliar vegetation types not yet studied in
detail, size-ups of range condition lack uniformity, invite unrecog-
nized damage, and may even become controversial and they are
likely to so continue until more simple, usable measuring sticks,
demonstrable on the ground, are available. Their development
constitutes a real challenge to research.
MANY OTHER UNSOLVED PROBLEMS
In addition to these examples of unsolved or partially solved
problems, a long list of other important ones in such fields as forage
values, range-plant moisture and other site requirements, range-
plant breeding, range economics, soils, and range entomology are
indicative of the scope of the research job ahead. A multitude of
facts must be unearthed to answer such questions as: (1) How
may western range condition be recognized and evaluated with
greater certainty and simplicity? (2) How may range forage be
most adequately improved and maintained and range soil safe-
guarded? And (3) how may the range as a basic resource be
handled to make its maximum contribution to social welfare?
THE NET RESULT A CONCLUDING APPRAISAL
In essence, there are two and only two approaches to land-
management policies and practices: (1) The slow evolution of rule-
of -thumb large-scale trial-and-error experience, and (2) tested facts.
The rule-of -thumb approach, by and large throughout the West, has
failed thus far to develop management that has stood practical test
as witnessed by the practically universal depletion. Research has
been, and still is, woefully inadequate in furnishing proven facts to
strengthen, where needed, a better factual basis of management.
Many needed management facts have accumulated too slowly for
maximum effectiveness; and on other problems, no studies have as
yet been started. The meager yield of experimental results on
obscure or controversial points has never caught up with the in-
creasing need. The resultant lack of dependable information on
especially complex problems has thus failed to provide a basis for
curbing much continuing depletion, has retarded application of
corrective measures on Federal lands, and has delayed extension
efforts among private owners.
FINANCIAL HANDICAPS
By E. I. KOTOK, Director, California Forest and Range Experiment Station
A number of financial handicaps faced by the range livestock pro-
ducer have tended to prevent the most effective balance between
capital investments, production costs, breeding herds, credit facili-
ties, and marketing opportunities. Since a seriously unbalanced
relationship adversely affects the opportunity for profit, and there-
fore tends to affect the management of the range, an understanding
of the handicaps is needed.
The livestock producer has not been entirely a free agent to manip-
ulate at will the elements that enter into production costs, nor has
he been able to adjust these with the constant fluctuations in the
market price of his ultimate salable product. This section will
attempt to explain the ways in which financial factors largely be-
yond the control of the producer have influenced business manage-
ment and range practice, tending toward range depletion.
THE RELATION OF CAPITAL INVESTMENTS TO PROFITS AND RANGE
DEPLETION
The home ranch, the range, the breeding herds, and the other
required improvements and facilities form the production plant of
the livestock business. For continued and sustained returns these
elements must be in balance with each other and with the salable
annual output, otherwise potential profits may be converted to actual
losses.
The percent of the total investment carried in lands, herds, im-
provements, and facilities varies markedly from operator to oper-
ator, but there are general and distinct regional differences and also
characteristic variations between cattle and sheep outfits. These
variations are considered as they influence profits, range-manage-
ment practices, and range depletion.
In table 30 trie percentage of the capital investment in each of the
major inventory items is given. These are composite figures and
represent approximations based on a series of studies conducted by
the State agricultural experiment stations and the United States
Department of Agriculture. The data available present difficulties
in the segregation of the items and distinct limitations in making
regional or periodic comparisons. The range livestock enterprise
varies widely, from the farmers who have a few head of stock pro-
viding a supplemental source of income, at one extreme, to the live-
stock producer owning 50,000 sheep or 10,000 cattle on the other
end of the scale. Obviously, summaries covering such vast differ-
ences in size of units must either include all ranches in a region or
must be carefully selected samples. Another difficulty is that con-
tinuous records on the same sampled ranches do not cover an extended
period of time; neither are the fluctuations in the commodity value
193
6494636 14
194
THE WESTERN RANGE
of the dollar considered in all studies. But even with these limita-
tions, the significant trends between regions may be safely singled
out.
TABLE 30. Approximate percentages of capital investments in the livestock in-
dustry in major items, for 6 regions
Region
Cattle outfits
Sheep outfits
Herds
Land
Other
Herds
Land
Other
1. Montana and North Dakota -
Percent
38.0
42.0
52.0
43.0
40.0
38.0
Percent
50.0
48.0
31.0
45.0
50.0
50.0
Percent
12.0
10.0
17.0
12.0
10.0
12.0
Percent
56.0
52.0
55.0
56.0
53.0
50.0
Percent
37.0
38.0
31.0
33.0
35.0
39.0
Percent
7.0
10.0
14.0
11.0
12.0
11.0
2. Colorado, South Dakota, Wyoming, Ne-
braska, Kansas
3. Arizona and New Mexico
4. Utah, Idaho, Nevada .
5 California
6. Washington, Oregon. ..
The composite average indicates that somewhere near 50 percent
of the capital investment in the cattle industry is in lands, 40 per-
cent in herds, and 10 percent in improvements and facilities. In the
more settled regions, where land prices are higher, the investment
in lands is above this average. As shown in table 30, less than a
third of the investments for Arizona and New Mexico is in lands
and more than half in herds. In part this may be explained by the
fact that this region includes extensive areas of public domain and
national forests used for grazing. There is, however, in this region a
correspondingly greater investment required for improvements which
the livestock owner has been forced to build on the public range.
For sheep the average percentage of investment in land varies from
31 percent in the Southwest to 39 percent in the Pacific Northwest,
and in herds from 50 percent in the Pacific Northwest to 56 percent
in eastern Montana, North Dakota, and also in parts of the inland
empire.
The important inferences that may be drawn from these data are
that all through the range country, except in the Southwest, the cat-
tleman has had to invest relatively more heavily in lands than the
sheepman ; that Arizona and New Mexico producers have less invest-
ment in lands and correspondingly higher percentages in herds for
cattle than any of the other regions; that Utah, Idaho, and Nevada
sheepmen have also a relatively low percent of investment in lands
and a correspondingly higher percent in herds.
The percent of the total investment in lands or in herds varies
materially as the price of livestock goes up or down. While both
lands and livestock have irregularly risen in unit price, the former
has been more stable with a general upward trend and the latter
has fluctuated within wide margins. This in effect means that if the
figures in table 30 represent individual years when livestock unit
prices were high, the percentage shown as invested in stock is rela-
tively higher than it would be over a number of years. Most of the
data are from studies conducted in 1927-28, when livestock^ prices
were high, which means in effect that the actual percentage given as
the investment in lands is lower than it would be over extended
periods. The general rise in livestock unit prices and the periodic
changes are illustrated by data given in tables 31 and 32.
FINANCIAL, HANDICAPS
195
TABLE 31. Trend of range-cattle 'prices, in actual value per head, and in
relative purchasing power of the dollar, 1867-1928 *
Year
Actual
value
Relative
purchasing
power
Year
Actual
value
Relative
purchasing
power
1867
Dollars
15.79
Percent
44.2
1902
Dollart
18.76
Percent
95.5
1872
18 12
62 8
1907
17.10
77.7
1877
15.99
69.7
1912
21.20
93.3
1882
18 89
84.0
1917
35.88
97.2
1887
19.79
103.3
1922
23.80
71.3
1892
15.16
83.2
1927
29.87
84.2
1897
16.65
103.5
1928
38.95
110.5
i U73).
TABLE 82. Farm value per head of cattle and sheep in four western States,
1932-34 1
State
Cattle
Sheep
1932
1933
1934
1932
1933
1934
Idaho
$19. 46
$15. 88
$18. 05
$3.22
$4.10
$4.86
Montana
20.87
17.19
18.28
2.97
4.12
4.58
Oregon .
21.09
15.91
24.09
2.93
3.92
4.64
Washington
25.52
19.87
26.63
3.31
4.45
5.00
1 Matson, Palmer, and Haight. Practical Livestock Operations and Credits. Farm
Credit Administration, Twelfth District, Federal Intermediate Credit Bank Data. 11 pp.
1935. [Mimeographed.]
These changes in livestock prices are reflected perceptibly in the
total capitalized valuation of an enterprise and materially modify
the percentage of the investment chargeable to the herds. For ex-
ample the difference in inventory value as between 1922 and 1928
for cattle as shown in table 31 would be an increase of 64 percent
in the value of the herd. Table 32 illustrates this strikingly for even
short periods. For example, inventory values in cattle decreased
from 1932 to 1933 by 18 to 25 percent, whereas sheep inventories
for the same period increased by approximately 33 percent. Saun-
derson and Vmke's studies (121) further illustrate this point. The
total investment per head of Montana range sheep and the ewe
value per head are estimated in table 33.
TABLE 33. Ratio of ewe value per head to total investment in lands, herds,
etc., per head, Montana, 1890-1932
Year
Total in-
vestment
per head
Ewe value
per head
Assumed
land, im-
provement,
etc., value
per head
Ratio of
ewe value
to total
investment
1890-..
$3.75
$2.50
$1.25
0.66
1895
2 95
1.50
1.45
.51
1900
4 30
2 85
1 45
66
1905
4.95
3.50
1.45
.71
1910
5 60
4 15
1.45
.74
1915
8.00
5.00
3.00
.63
1920.. .
25 00
10.25
14.75
.41
1925
32 00
11 50
20 50
36
1930.-
30.00
7.00
23.00
.23
1931
25 00
5.00
20 00
.20
1932
20 00
3 50
16 50
18
196 THE WESTERN RANGE
The difference between total investment and ewe value as shown
in column 3 of table 33 is an approximate index of the amount in-
vested per animal in lands, improvements, and facilities. From this
index figure it will be noted that investment per head for lands,
improvements, and facilities is low and approximately constant up
to 1910, with an index figure 1.45. In 1915, the index is about dou-
bled, and from 1920 to 1930 the index rises sharply. From these
indexes the conclusion may safely be drawn that the capital invest-
ment per unit head in lands, improvements, and facilities has stead-
ily mounted reaching a high peak in 1930. The ratios in the last
column represent an approximate ratio of the investment in the
breeding herd to the total investment in the enterprise, and indicate
that the investment in the breeding herd has steadily declined from
1890 to 1932. This basic relationship between the percentage in-
vested in lands and the percentage invested in livestock is of utmost
importance in determining final profits and also has played no small
part in shaping range management practice much of it of a charac-
ter detrimental to the range.
Total investments illustrate the whole trend of overcapitalization,
from a unit head investment of $3.75 in 1890 to a high of $32 in
1925 and a drop to no less than $20 in 1932.
From the standpoint of profits, the breeding herd, the basis of the
salable crop, is of primary importance. Obviously, other things being
equal, the producer who maintains the highest percentage of his
capital investment in breeding stock will show the greatest returns.
This fact is well illustrated by a number of studies. In Wyoming
(168), "operators whose investment in cattle represented at least a
third of their total investment were doing better financially than
those operators who had less than one-third of their investment in
cattle." In Utah (103) , "profits tended to decrease as the percentage
of total investment represented by cattle decreased. * * * That
ranch tends strongly to be profitable which has 25 percent or more
of its total investment in cattle, and 35 to 45 percent is still more
profitable."
One of the great difficulties in maintaining this desirable ratio,
favoring the highest relative investment in livestock, particularly
when livestock valuation is high, is the scarcity and availability of
reasonably priced range. Home-ranch and range-land prices have,
during the past two decades, attained levels far beyond their possible
earning capacity, and the stockman has thus been forced to invest
far too much in high-priced land. Under these conditions, if he con-
tinues to run the number of livestock that ranch and range should
support adequately under normal conditions, he will inevitably find
it difficult to show a fair profit on his investment, or he may even
go in the red. He then resorts to a very tempting alternative which
may temporarily establish a normal balance between investments in
lands and investments in livestock, namely, he overstocks the ranch
and range. For a short period this may bring more income and
probable profits, but, if so, it is at the expense of the production
capacity of the land. It is a form of exploitation which inevitably
leads to range depletion. When this process has gone far enough
FINANCIAL HANDICAPS 197
he finds himself in a vicious circle. The depleted range, if stocking
is not reduced, produces less pounds per animal or he is forced to
buy more range or lease miore feed. This again destroys the eco-
nomic balance he must maintain between breeding herds, invest-
ments, and production possibilities.
Even for the stockman who leases range the same processes operate
where exorbitant and fictitious ranch and range land values are com-
petitively established. On many of the western outfits prohibitive
charges for leasing range have been the direct cause of overstocking,
as the only means of maintaining reasonable unit-carrying costs of
herds. The stockman, never assured of renewal, proceeded under
these conditions to "mine" the forage crop in one season.
All agriculture, as well as the livestock industry, has suffered
severely from inflated land values, which become particularly bur-
densome when crops must be sold in a depressed market. High land
capitalization is further complicated by the fact that much ranch and
range lands were purchased on partial-payment plans during periods
of inflation and payments had to be met during periods of depressed
prices, thus presenting a double burden of high carrying costs.
To reduce high carrying costs of land when livestock prices are low
overstocking is resorted to on the false assumption that losses may be
reduced. In so doing losses may temporarily be averted or deferred,
but finally the basic land resource may suffer to a degree where con-
tinuance of a sustained profitable enterprise is not possible even when
good markets again prevail.
Inflated land values have thus increasingly put out of balance the
percentage of the capital investment which should be carried in the
herd, have reduced prospective profits, induced bad husbandry, and
lastly, have been a major factor in overstocking and range depletion.
THE RELATION or PRODUCTION COSTS TO PROFITS AND RANGE DEPLETION
It is in many instances impossible to make a direct comparison of
the data found in the available detailed cost-of -operation studies. Not
always have the same common denominators been used; allowances
are sometimes made for contributed labor and interest on investment,
but it is difficult to so segregate these that safe comparisons can be
drawn.
In a general way the items and amounts that enter into operating
costs are reasonably well illustrated in information collected by the
Federal Intermediate Credit Bank 20 as shown in tables 34 and 35.
These represent data for 1934, a year of relative average high expense
and low returns, and are reasonably representative for the 11
western States.
See footnote to table 32, p. 195.
198 THE WESTERN RANGE
TABLE 34. Cost of grazing operation per unit head of sheep, 1984
Expense items
Types of lambing practice
Types of operation
Size of operation
Early
Early
to late
LSt6
Owner
Owner
and
lessee
Tran-
sient
Large
Me-
dium
Small
Labor
$1. 140
2.016
3.082
$1. 168
1.387
3.059
$0. 836
.796
2.213
$1.10
1.02
2.73
$1.06
1.41
2.68
$0.72
1.28
2.46
$1.09
1.46
2.52
$1.02
.98
2.71
$0.78
1.14
2.80
Feed and range
Carrying charges
Total costs
6.238
5.614
3.845
4.85
5.15
4.46
5.07
4.71
4.72
Detailed carrying charges:
Supplies..
.522
.737
.246
.346
.064
.329
.838
.581
.671
.355
.247
.061
.235
.909
.555
621
160
190
040
110
537
.52
.70
.23
.24
.05
.17
.82
.56
.71
.24
.26
.04
.25
.62
.59
.52
.23
.23
.05
.14
.70
.50
.64
.22
.26
.04
.25
.61
.57
.72
.20
.23
.01
.18
.80
.64
.65
.29
.23
.11
.11
.77
Taxes and interest
Auto expense
Personal and insurance .
Restocking (bucks,
rams)
Miscellaneous
Loss and depreciation. _
TABLE 35. Cost of operation per unit head of cattle, 1934
Expense items
Large
Medium
Small
Average
Labor
$1.63
$1.47
$2.50
$1.89
Feed and range
1.07
1.36
3.25
1.97
Carrying charges
9.44
8.11
7.46
8.23
Total costs
12.14
10.94
13.21
12.09
Detailed carrying charges:
Supplies.. . ......
1.54
1.26
2.11
1.65
Taxes and interest
3.59
3.53
2.37
3.12
Auto expense
.58
.41
.95
.65
Personal and insurance
.98
.70
.18
.59
Restocking (bulls)
.73
.51
.08
.41
Miscellaneous ....
.16
.65
.38
. 42
Loss
1.86
1.05
1.39
1.39
All the items that constitute the cost of production and which must
be met ordinarily by current annual cash outlays can be grouped
conveniently into three classes labor, feed, and carrying charges.
Of these, feed costs and that portion of the carrying charges directly
related to the land, such as taxes, interest, or rentals for leased land,
make up a substantial part of the total cost of operation.
The cost of feed and forage may become a controlling factor in
profits and influence to a large extent the development of range
practices. It is important, therefore, to consider how the stockman
gets his feed, what it costs, and how land and range management
affect the feed supply, profits, and the enterprise itself.
The western stockman obtains feed from owned or leased range
lands, permitted use on national forests, free range on public do-
main, and by raising or purchasing supplemental feeds. As stated,
the carrying costs of the commensurable lands which must produce
the wild forage and supplemental crop feeds, together with the cash
outlay for producing or buying feeds or for leasing range, make up
a substantial part of the whole cost of production. If these total
feed costs are inordinately out of line, profits diminish materially.
Feed frequently makes or breaks the stockman.
Unfortunately, the stockman has never been quite sure of his feed
sources. Even if he owns the land and has not abused it, there is no
FINANCIAL HANDICAPS 199
certainty what the ranch or range may produce in crops or forage
for any given season. The vicissitudes of climate as a factor in
forage production have already been described. The forage crop
may vary from year to year; it may be wiped out by a drought or
lessened considerably in expected amount through a cycle of dry
years.
The western stockman is just as much at the mercy of weather as
any other crop farmer. Lack of rain, drying winds, low tempera-
tures during growing seasons, all take their toll in forage produc-
tion. Shortages in feed due to adverse climatic factors are in a
measure largely unpredictable and uncontrollable. To meet these
vagaries of climate, the prudent stockman, if he has the capital,
must invest in reserve feed supplies and additional range to meet
such emergencies. Otherwise he must meet the emergency in paying
exorbitant prices for feed, or is forced to sell his stock far below the
cost of production.
When a cycle of favorable climatic years comes, the general
tendency has been to increase breeding stock to the maximum. If,
with these conditions, there is also a rise in prices for stock, compe-
tition for range becomes active, land prices rise whether for pur-
chase or lease and thus the coincidence of a favorable market and a
good forage year may be vitiated by carrying costs of high-value
land and high forage 'costs.
Under adverse climatic conditions, even with depressed livestock
prices, the very shortage of feed induces a strong competitive market
for feed and range. Good or bad forage years, the stockman un-
provided with reserve feed has laid himself open, so far as feed or
forage is concerned, to a high competitive market and a correspond-
ing increase in cost of production.
These uncertainties as to availability of feed and its probable cost
introduce a major factor of uncertainty and hazard in the entire en-
terprise. They lead the producer to gamble for large gains whenever
the opportunity arises; and maximum stocking during good feed
years is the most tempting gamble, generally leading to range ex-
ploitation. In time of drought the producer who has built up his
operation by excessive stocking may find himself again in an acute
situation, particularly as forage costs reach high levels. As stated
by some observers (187), "judging from the history of the years
1886-87 and 1919-20, the occurrence of a very poor year or a sue-
cession of poor years usually means a crisis to many individual oper-
ators because of high operating expenses and great death losses among
cattle." This is confirmed by another study, 21 which states : "One hard
winter or one severe drought may cause a heavier loss in 1 year
than has been gained in several years by heavy stocking."
The stockman tries to meet the severe financial stresses and strains
that he is subjected to by reducing carrying costs per unit head.
What are these possibilities for reduction in cost of production?
Some carrying charges are almost immutably fixed, such as taxes and
interest on indebtedness for land and stock. He may reduce labor
costs, but these form but a fraction of the total expenditures. If he
reduces labor too drastically, it may be at such a sacrifice in good
a Parr and Klemmedson. An Economic Study of the Costs and Methods of Range Cattle
Production in North Central Texas. U. S. Dept. Agr., Bur. Agr. Econ. Prelim. Kept. 40
pp. 1925. [Mimeographed.]
200 THE WESTERN RANGE
care of the stock, losses from predators and poisonous plants, reduc-
tion in calf or lamb crop, and the poorer general condition and quality
of the salable animals that these losses may be materially dispro-
portionate to the gains made by decreased labor costs. He may reduce
the amount of supplemental feed per animal, and here again it will
be directly reflected in the condition of his herd. What he is likely
to do as the easiest way out to reduce unit production cost per animal
is to overstock his range.
The condition of the livestock, the percentage of lamb or calf crop,
are readily detected, and the stockman is reasonably well-informed on
these matters. He prizes his breeding herd as the important part of
the production plant. His interest in the range is, on the contrary,
less evident. In the desire to keep carrying costs per unit-head low,
he may hold too many stock on the range in a bad year, figuring that
the next year may be favorable and the range will revive. He over-
stocks in a good forage year because he is overenthusiastic about the
range capacity by contrast with the poor year, and he also gambles
that more good years must follow. The fact is forgotten or over-
looked that the condition of the range is a major influence in the
proper maintenance of the breeding herd and in the final increment
of calf or lamb crop, which in the last analysis determines the ratio
of income to cost of production. The effect of this is that on a very
important part of his capital investment a process of attrition is
initiated. This process frequently continues slowly, and is not per-
ceptible to the owner or lessee of the range. He does not appreciate
that it is cutting vitally into a part of his capital, just as important
as the capital invested in the herd, and that ultimately it means an
increase in the unit cost of production. Innumerable instances can
be cited where land purchased on the basis of high grazing capacity,
which might have been a good capital investment, because of abuse
through overstocking was reduced to one-half or one-fifth of its
original forage production and thus was converted into a poor invest-
ment and brought about unduly high unit-production costs. Such
methods mean higher unit costs for forage, if stocks are reduced to the
commensurate availability of forage; or, if the original number of
stock is maintained, the reduction in weight, quality, and offspring
will increase unit costs. And to this must also be added an annual
depreciation charge because of the depleted values in the range.
If overstocking continues, the important forage plants slowly are
reduced in number and some may even disappear. Pest plants and
less desirable plants invade and immediately start their conquest of
the range. If this overstocking should coincide with the prevalence
of a dry cycle, not uncommon in the western range States, startlingly
unfavorable changes become evident even to the most optimistic.
Sheet and gulley erosion, disappearance of common perennial grasses,
thin stands of annuals, closely cropped shrubs, increase in undesirable
and poisonous plant species, disappearance of springs, and lowered
water tables, are all signs that a range property has badly depre-
ciated, and that one important leg of the capital structure in a given
livestock enterprise has become shaky.
When this stage is reached this part of the capital structure (the
range) requires restorative treatment. Restoration of former forage
values is a costly process requiring labor and cash outlay. But the
FINANCIAL HANDICAPS 201
first step in Lny positive curative process is the reduction or even total
removal of stock. If depletion is not serious and is recognized early
enough, reduction in numbers, more careful handling on the range,
and care in preventing too early grazing may suffice and give nature
an opportunity to heal the scars and renew vegetation. But depletion
may reach a point where costly gully control, artificial reseeding, and
grubbing of poisonous plants may be required, as well as reduction in
numbers of stock grazed. Investments and improvements may be
needed, such as development of new sources of water and fencing off
the most seriously punished lands from all use. These costs may
reach a figure of $5 per acre, an investment frequently more than the
land can carry under private ownership. Whether the producer
reduces the number of stock or makes further investments to restore
the productivity of the range, the yearly carrying charges must be
increased, and with it the unit cost of production.
Unfortunately the stockman is rarely ready to apply the stiff
remedy of reduction of stocking, even when he recognizes that the
range is going back, and rarely able to make the otherwise necessary
protective investments. Again he is caught in a vicious cycle, his
depleted range produces poorer stock, smaller yields in calves and
lambs, and higher losses. He delays as long as he can the reduction
in stock and so the situation grows worse, or if he resorts to the pur-
chase of more land, this again increases his investment in lands out
of proportion with the investments in breeding herds and creates a
corresponding increase in unit cost of production.
CREDIT FACILITIES AND THEIR RELATION TO PROFITS AND RANGE
DEPLETION
In the past the livestock producer depended for his credits on pri-
vate banks, loan associations, insurance companies, and occasionally
on commission men. Since the World War, Federal banking facilities
have become available, such as the War Finance Corporation, and
more recently the Farm Credit Administration.
Like all agriculture, the livestock industry has suffered in the past
from lack of favorable credit facilities. Loans carried high interest
rates and were extended only for short-term periods. With his larger
investments, the individual stockman has found the usual credit terms
even more onerous than has the crop farmer. Short-term loans might
suffice for current operations, incurred indebtedness, and to carry over
livestock held for a more favorable market. But if he desires to build
up his herd, purchase more land, improve facilities, or construct essen-
tial improvements on the range, long-term reasonably low interest-
bearing loans are necessary. Excepting for land purchases, credits
in the past for other needs have carried high interest rates, and rates
of 9 to 10 percent were common. A study made by the Oregon
Agricultural College (105) illustrates this difficulty. They found in
1925 that
There is a considerable variation in the interest rate * * * It is, of
course, a fact that many of the banks charge 9 percent and 10 percent, and it is
also a fact that the cattle-loan companies charge 9 percent to 9% percent or even
10 percent interest. * * * It is unfortunately true, however, that the cattle
and sheep industries are at the present time charged the highest rates of interest
known in the commercial world.
202 THE WESTERN RANGE
Under these conditions it is not surprising that many improvements
needed to make more advantageous use of the forage were not under-
taken and the range frequently suffered because of it.
For a long period of time, banks, cattle-loan associations, and, more
recently, even Federal banking agencies have based their loans largely
on the number of livestock owned by the borrower, without much
consideration as to other assets, availability of feed, or condition of
the livestock. Some banks have refused to recognize that range land
had any loan value. This trend has led indirectly to building up or
holding more livestock than the range could carry so as to build up
collateral for loans. Obviously, if the loan were made with adequate
restrictions safeguarding the range, in the long run loans would be
better secured, to the advantage of borrower and lender alike. Even
the Federal banking agencies have failed to recognize the full import
and need for care of the collateral existing in the range. In more
recent loans through the Farm Credit Administration the grazing
privileges on a national forest held by the borrower has been
considered as an asset and valued as collateral.
On the face of it this appears to give value to range even if not
owned. This practice has been based on the theory that a national-
forest permit is a negotiable asset, is revocable only for serious cause,
and transferable under certain prescribed conditions. Such Federal
loan agencies have also requested, in order to add security to the loan,
a guarantee that the Forest Service would not make reductions in the
number of stock for permits carrying loans. The Forest Service,
among other reasons, has insisted and contends that to guarantee no
reductions might defeat the integrity of the assets themselves if and
when reductions in number of stock were necessary to safeguard the
range. Dry cycles, producing adverse conditions and need for range
rehabilitation may necessitate large and immediate reductions in live-
stock grazed. Here again the fact that the production plant of the
grazier consists of herds and range has been lost sight of. In the long
run the best way to protect the loan and insure sustained profits to
the borrower would be to insist that the range be given proper care,
whether owned or leased.
No continuous record of indebtedness carried per unit animal
extending for a long period and covering a single region is available.
The general evidence indicates that there was a steady but small
increase in indebtedness per animal from 1880 to 1910 and that there-
after the indebtedness increased sharply. One reason for mounting
indebtedness is traceable in the extension of old loans which were not
reduced in 20 years.
Some examples of indebtedness may be given to show the amounts
carried by the producer. In two studies made in Colorado (&, #5)
in 1922-25 a total average indebtedness of $32,446 for 800 head of
stock, or $40 per head, is reported in one instance, and in another a
total average indebtedness of $33,200 against 1,016 cows, or $33 per
cow. A study made in 1926 in New Mexico (174) reports an average
total indebtedness of $27,552 against 1,224 animal units per ranch, or
$23 per animal unit.
Indebtednesses in the northern Great Plains region in 1924 are
given in table 36 (187).
FINANCIAL HANDICAPS
203
TABLE 36. Indebtedness per ranch and per head of stock in the northern G\reat
Plains region, 1924
Ranch
Stock per
ranch
Cows per
ranch
Indebt-
edness
per ranch
Indebt-
edness
per head
of stock
Indebt-
edness
for cattle
only
A
Number
85
Number
34
Dollars
3,826
Dollars
45
Dollars
13
B...
159
72
5,300
33
12
o.
298
141
8,023
27
13
D
570
285
17, 035
30
17
E_.
1,734
753
43, 611
25
19
Iii this same study the average inventory value per head was
placed at $39.71. Of the total indebtedness per head of livestock on
the ranch it will be seen that the chattel mortgage forms but a small
part of the total.
The stockman started with small initial investments in lands and
proceeded through a series of years to build up his herds to high
numbers without encumbering himself with indebtedness. True, in
severe years when losses both in calf and lamb crops and in breeding
stock were abnormally high, he had to resort to whatever credit
facilities were available to get a fresh start. Credit under such
conditions was extended at almost usurious rates.
The trend of easy credits, high interest rates, and their effect on the
profits of the stockman is well illustrated in certain findings in
Oregon (106) :
Inadequate finances often lower the profits, * * * partly because the
management is in the hands of the bank or loan company. * * * If the
owner has an equity of 50 percent or more in the entire plant * * * he
should be able to borrow the remainder at an interest rate of not over 7
percent * * * if his equity is much less than 50 percent, he will probably
have to pay 9- to 10-percent interest. * * * A 75-percent equity in a one-
band outfit is much better than a 25-percent equity in three or four bands.
A significant trend in finance and banking has been in operation
in the past 20 years and has contributed to increase average indebted-
ness. As working capital in all banks accumulated, western bankers
looking for outlets encouraged expansion in the livestock industry
and made credits readily available. Loans were made for the pur-
chase of lands and stock, and frequently to many persons unqualified
for the undertaking. Stockmen could not resist the temptation to
expand under such easy credits, even at high-interest rates. Fre-
quently this led to the building up of herds beyond the safe capacity
of the available range. In contrast to the easy credits of good times,
credits were restricted during depressions when money was most
needed. Insofar as the welfare of the range is concerned, the in-
flexibility of credit facilities was one serious cause in keeping the
number of stock out of balance with availability of range and was a
contributing cause of overstocking and range depletion.
THE BANKERS' VIEWPOINT
Bankers who specialize in livestock loans developed certain points
of view that reflected the attitude of the stockmen themselves. Some
of the abuses in the form of inflexibility of credits, short-term char-
204 THE WESTERN RANGE
acter of loans, and high interest rates were the result of causes out-
side the immediate control of either the bankers or the stockmen.
The livestock business grew up in the West as a highly speculative
venture ; and having built up such a reputation, it had to pay exact-
ing penalties when it was in the market for money. The crop the
grazier produces takes a long time to mature. The amount and quality
of the salable crop may shrink through unpredictable losses, and the
final sale price may, from day to day, month to month, and year to
year, have a wide spread, frequently falling below the cost of pro-
duction. On the basis of these conditions, the banker has built up
a system of livestock loans. His has been a short-term point of view,
with inevitable high rates and inflexibility of credit. It really has
amounted to a system of loans secured, not by a production plant,
consisting of ranch, range, and livestock capable of producing an
annual salable crop, but by a chattel mortgage on livestock. Little
consideration has been given until recently to the possibilities of
building up an industry on a sustained yield management concept,
wherein the whole production plant, feed, forage, and stock are kept
in balance and the vagaries of market and climate are partially
counterbalanced by reserves in feed and credits.
The banks and loan associations have done little in the past to dis-
courage or eliminate bad husbandry. They have done little to en-
courage management practices, and yet these are the real basis of
profits in a livestock enterprise, the true measure of the security of
the collateral, and the safety of the loan itself. At best it is difficult
to ascertain the real assets of a livestock producer. In some instances
loans have been made without even a count of the stock on the range
and no appraisal of the value of the stock, the range, improvements,
or capacity of the borrower as a livestock manager. Bankers have
often forced liquidation of well-bred breeding stock on depressed
markets, further lowering general prices and with practically no
returns to the producer. Good business would often have dictated
further loans to buy additional feed to carry the breeding herd over
the depression. At other times banks have enforced holding stock
until more favorable markets without supplying funds to buy ade-
quate feed, leaving the producer one alternative, that of keeping more
livestock than the range could safely carry, and with it the inevitable
sequence, overstocking, range exploitation, and range depletion.
Such myopic banking policies have not only contributed to the
disruption of the livestock business but have also caused the closing
of many banks that dealt in livestock loans in the West.
There are, however, many signs of a favorable change and through
the facilities of the Farm Credit Administration many of these
abuses can be checked. Among the more important provisions of
this new governmental agency which may go a long way to stabilize
the industry and ultimately safeguard the range itself are the fol-
lowing:
1. Overexpansion discouraged (a) by requiring a sound ratio
between all parts of the production plant; (b) by requiring reason-
able margins in security offered as collateral.
2. Longer periods of loans at much lower rates than were ever
before available to the industry as a whole.
FINANCIAL HANDICAPS 205
3. Adequate showing of range and feed for the number of stock
to be handled.
4. An actual inventory, not only of stock, but range, feed, facili-
ties, etc.
5. A check on the moral risk of the borrower with the motto
"The eyes of the master make fat cattle."
MARKETING AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO PROFITS AND RANGE
DEPLETION
The availability of favorable markets, with some degree of stabil-
ity in prices for reasonable periods, is axiomatically the foundation
for any self -sustained industry. The livestock producer has on the
contrary never been sure of reasonably favorable market conditions
where a stable price range was assured for any short period.
As might be expected, the demand for the products of the western
range increased with the growth of the Nation, and its outlets to
markets have been facilitated tremendously with the extension of
the western links of the American railroad system. Modern live-
stock marketing is an outgrowth of the railroad and the cold-storage
plant which has made possible the central stockyard systems and
packing plant. From very simple marketing systems a complicated
machinery of distribution has grown up between the ultimate con-
sumer and livestock producer.
At present, the producer has these means of disposal of his prod-
uce the local butcher, a local buyer, individual shipment on con-
signment in carload lots to a commission agent, and disposal through
cooperative shipping associations. The local buyer may be an in-
dividual speculator or represent a commission agent at some central
market or a local butchering concern.
^ The bulk of the salable livestock produced in the western range
States must be marketed at central stockyards and packing points;
local markets absorb but a small percentage of the total. The chief
market is therefore at some distant point.
Whichever method of marketing is used, the ultimate price the
producer may receive is determined by forces entirely out of his
control, which may have no relation to the cost of actual production.
As one stockman has very aptly stated :
It is fundamentally unsound to expect reasonable returns if a perishable
product must be taken 1,000 miles to the appraisal of a fluctuating market from
which there is no retreat.
Once the stock is on its way to market, the seller is entirely at the
mercy of the buyer.
Price fluctuation is well illustrated in the average prices at the
Chicago market for 5 years given in table 37.
But prices fluctuate even in shorter periods of time. The periodic
variations in prices illustrated in table 38 show the prices paid for
lamb and beef steers by periodic averages for 1930-34 at the Chicago
market. Thus we find a wide fluctuation both in yearly and even
monthly prices.
206
THE WESTERN RANGE
TABLE 37. Average prtees per 100 pounds for beef and lambs at the Chicago
market, 1930-34 *
Year
Beef steers,
1,100 to 1,300
pounds,
Good
Lambs, 90
pounds
down,
Good, and
Choice
1930
$11.81
$9.40
1931
8 92
7 77
1932
7.46
6. 11
1933
5 69
6 63
1934
7.31
7.82
i Bureau of Agricultural Economics statistics (153) and mimeographed reports for 1930-33.
TABLE 88* Four monthly prices 1 for years 1930-34 to illustrate variation in
monthly prices throughout year at Chicago market 2
[Sources of data: See footnote to table 37]
Month
19
30
19
31
19
32
19
33
19
34
Beef
Lambs
Beef
Lambs
Beef
Lambs
Beef
Lambs
Beef
Lambs
January .. . _
$13. 77
$12. 26
$11.31
$8.71
$8.57
$6.16
$5. 15
$6.01
$5.63
$8.33
April
13.17
8 77
8 72
9 35
7 31
6 91
5 33
5.43
6.96
9.49
July
9.95
10.13
7.36
7.67
8. 16
6.27
6.15
7.67
7.74
7.32
October
10.39
8 06
8 94
6 36
7 47
5 30
5 55
6.74
7.65
6.49
1 Beef, 1,100 to 1,300 pounds, Good; lambs, 90 pounds, Good and Choice.
2 Based on means of daily range of quotations.
What the producer ultimately receives, of course, depends on the
selling price, influenced among other things by the class of stock he
raises, the freight charges to market, and all the other miscellaneous
handling costs from the shipping point to the slaughterhouse. As
between regions, the market factor includes the freight differentials,
the general class of stock produced in the region, and the season
of marketing.
Table 39 (152) is a 5-year average (1930-34) for prices received
by producers, as of January 15 of each year.
TABLE 39. Five-year average of prices received ~by producer per 100 pounds
State
Beef
Lambs
State
Beef
Lambs
Montana
$4.96
$5.64
New Mexico
$4.88
$5.83
Idaho
4 52
5 51
Utah
4.93
5.79
Washington
5.10
5.74
Nevada
5.66
6.26
Oregon
5.49
5.43
Colorado
5.44
6.84
California
5 66
6 76
Wy<vrnjng
5.37
6.35
Arizona
5.00
6.87
The maximum regional differences for beef in this period is $1.14
per 100 pounds as between the California-Nevada price and that
for Idaho, or about $14 per animal for a 1,200-pound steer. The
maximum regional differences in lambs is $1.44 per 100 pounds as
between Arizona and Oregon, or about $1 per animal. These major
regional differences in final price received by producer on a parity
basis of profits per animal can only be compensated for by corre-
sponding reductions in actual costs of production.
FINANCIAL HANDICAPS 207
The inherent differences in the prices the producer may receive
for the same class of stock from region to region cannot be entirely
eliminated. But more serious problems confront the livestock pro-
ducer in attempting to secure a fair return for his product.
The uncertainty of price and lack of a free competitive market
was early recognized. The exhaustive report of the Federal Trade
Commission (165) covers this matter thoroughly. It shows that,
up to 1919, five large packers held complete control of the market.
The Packers and Stockyard Act of 1921, as a result of this inquiry,
sought to regulate the business of the packers by preventing unfair
discriminatory or deceptive practices. The chief evil it particularly
aimed to curb as relating to the livestock producer, was the monopoly
the packers enjoyed and which enabled them unduly and arbitrarily
to lower prices to the shipper. It attempted to secure a free and
unburdened flow of livestock from the West through the stockyards
and slaughtering centers. In 1926, and again in 1935, the Packers
and Stockyard Act of 1921 was further amended to eliminate other
marketing abuses. 22
The fluctuating in and uncertainty of prices has been the hazard-
ous factor which in no small part has contributed to the instability
of the livestock enterprise. But even under the most favorable con-
ditions of open competition, price fluctuations from year to year
may reach wide extremes. This may become particularly oppressive,
because the producer has to make his cash outlays many years in
advance of the marketing of his final product. If the gestation
period is counted it takes, under very favorable practices, a year to
produce a lamb for market, a year and a half for a baby beef, and for
the usual market steer from western ranges at least 2% years.
Even the growth of cold-storage facilities, which makes possible
the evening out of supplies for consumption, does not show the ex-
pected stabilization of prices to the producer. The producer is in
a constant quandary what his product may bring. It is particularly
disturbing because it not only affects his current salable produce but
the produce which will reach market 2 years hence and for which
investment outlays are being currently incurred.
Ordinarily the producer is not a free agent to hold back sales
awaiting a rising and more favorable market. Frequently, in order
to meet current expenses, he must sell his stock in a most unfavorable
market. If he does hold on, he often does so at the expense of the
range because the hold-over stock are surpluses which ordinarily
should have been moved.
82 In the Stafford v. Wallacce case, no. 687691, an appeal of the enforcement of the
Packers and Stockyard Act of 1921, Mr. Chief Justice Taft in rendering opinion of the
Court stated : "The chief evil feared is the monopoly of the packers, enabling them unduly
and arbitrarily to lower prices to the shipper who sells and unduly and arbitrarily to
increase the price to the consumer who buys. Another evil which it sought to provide
against by the act was exorbitant charges, duplication of commissions, deceptive practices
in respect to prices, all made possible by collusion between the stockyards management
and the commission men on the one hand, and the packers and dealers on the other.
* The shipper whose livestock are being cared for and sold in the stockyards
market is ordinarily not present at the sale, but is far away in the West. He is wholly
dependent on the commission men." The Chief Justice in quoting the Swift & Go. v.
United States (196 U. S. 375), states: "The Swift case presented to this Court the
sufficiency of a bill of equity brought against substantially the same packing firms as those
against whom this legislation is directed, charging them as a combination of dominant
proportion of the dealers in fresh meat throughout the United States not to bid against
each other in the livestock markets of the different States, to bid up prices for a few days
in order to induce the cattlemen to send their stock to the stockyards, to fix prices at
which they would sell, and to that end to restrict shipments of meat when necessary
and all this in a conspiracy and single connected scheme to monopolize the
supply and distribution of fresh meats throughout the United States."
208 THE WESTERN KANGE
Depressed or glutted markets and slack sales often are the direct
cause of overstocking. With restricted credits and short reserves in
hay and other supplemental feeds that result from previous over-
stocking, the only alternative has appeared to be to further stock
the ranges, owned or leased, far beyond their capacity. The after-
math of enforced hold-over has been range depletion. In holding
down operating expenditures because of unfavorable markets and
low prices, there is little latitude for the producer. His fixed costs
remain constant, feed may even be proportionally higher than usual.
He resorts to overstocking and hence range depletion as the easiest
way out.
PROFITS
In comparison with other agricultural crop farming, the livestock
industry, over extended periods, has experienced as great or even
freater fluctuations in returns on investments. Under the most
avorable conditions profits have been exceedingly high. This has
attracted new capital, induced overexpansion, and brought the evils
that generally follow in the wake of overproduction.
One major control on profits as between regions is the nearness
to market as indicated, this differential may mean as much as $14
per steer and $1 per lamb. To overcome this handicap the unfavor-
able regions must possess other advantages, either in cheaper lands,
cheaper forage, more favorable climate, or cheaper labor.
Another control is the capital-investment relationship as between
lands, herds, and improvements, and the unit size of operation. The
breeding herds must be at a safe maximum that the range can sup-
port without damaging it and that will still leave reserve feed for
critical years.
Still another factor is the size of the unit. This is well illustrated
by data secured in many studies. Highest net returns in Utah (103)
were reached by outfits having about 370 cattle. Records compiled"
by the Intermediate Credit Bank, twelfth district, 23 in 1934 on
3,520,000 cattle show greatest profit on outfits of 360 to 580 head.
In Montana 24 400 to 500 head of cattle appeared to be the size of
operation under which it was possible to approach maximum effi-
ciency; and another estimate (120) stated that net income from 100
head was $5, from 200 head $8, from 400 head $12, and that above
400 the net income declined until the figure for 900 head was $9.
For sheep the same general law of economic size applies, varying
by regions. Utah figures (46) for size of outfits and percent of
return are:
Percent
Sheep: return
230 to 1,000 9.
1,001 to 2,000 13. 8
2,001 to 3,000 17. 8
Over 3,000 13.6
Records compiled by Intermediate Credit Bank, twelfth district, 25
in 1934 for over 9 million sheep show losses in cents per head as
follows :
23 See footnote to table 32, p. 195.
34 Saunderson, M. H. Some Materials Relating to Livestock and Land Valuation. Mont.
Agr. Expt. Sta., Dept. Agr. Econ. 23 pp., illus. 1935. [Mimeographed.]
25 See footnote to table 32, p. 195.
FINANCIAL HANDICAPS 209
Outfit : Cent8
More than 3 bands 73
2 to 3 bands 73
1 band or less - 86
In Wyoming (169), in 1925, ranches having between 7,001 and
8,000 ewes had a $9.49 return ; above this and below, progressively
smaller returns. The smallest returns were $2.64 for outfits of 1,000
and less and $2.68 for outfits with 9,000 and more. In Montana
(121) it was found that from the standpoint of production organiza-
tion the point of maximum efficiency in size could be realized at 3,600
to 4,500 ewes.
The hazardous features of the enterprises which affect profits and
induce malpractices injurious to the range have already been re-
viewed. The vicissitudes of climate may wipe out all profits for
many years unless adequate reserve feed is maintained. Poisonous
plants, animal diseases, predators, all take a toll that in bad years,
on depleted range, may go beyond 10 percent of the total herd. Ir-
regular prices, enforced hold-over, relatively high fixed costs, all
affect profits adversely.
In the final analysis profits for the man in the straight livestock
business without other sources of income will depend on :
1. A well-balanced outfit, as between capital investment in lands,
improvements, and herds.
2. A proper size unit.
3. A carefully managed range with sufficient reserves in feed.
4. A stabilized market.
5. Reasonably long-term credit facilities.
6. Sound managerial and business skill.
KEY FINANCIAL PROBLEMS
Many causes can be assigned for what appears to be the needless
exploitation and depletion of our western ranges, but underlying all
of these are certain financial handicaps which influence markedly
and sometimes exclusively range practices and husbandry and are
detrimental to the maintenance of the forage and the soil which pro-
duces it. Sometimes initial financial difficulties start abuses on the
range; often abuses once started bring the stockman into further
financial difficulties. The key financial problems, which with the
passing of time have been persistently acute, have influenced ex-
ploitation, and often have greatly aggravated the results of poor
husbandry, can be traced to uncontrolled disadvantageous markets,
uncertain and onerous credit facilities, and high carrying costs of
land.
MARKETS
The most disturbing factor of the livestock industry has been
the uncertainty and lack of stability of its markets. Essentially this
is a common problem of all agriculture and is national in character
and in scope. The ordinary workings of supply and demand as a
reasonably stabilizing force have not functioned. The loss of Old
World markets, fluctuating changes in per-capita meat consump-
tion at home, the abnormal peak demands during the Great War, all
have merely accentuated previously existing disturbing factors.
64946 36 15
210 THE WESTERN RANGE
Without assurances of reasonably steady markets, no industry can
build soundly, and when it takes 2 to 3 years to produce a salable
crop the consequences of an unstable market may be utter ruin.
The livestock producer has for many years been at the mercy of
the packer and processor. Regardless of supply and demand, prices
were set by a controlling group and in no relation to the cost of
production. Some of these abuses have been mitigated by Federal
and State laws, but essentially price is not fixed by the producer
but is still controlled by outside forces. High freight rates and
unfavorable differentials for some regions have placed further finan-
cial difficulties in the way of assuring a fair return to the producer.
Inadequate marketing facilities and lack of control in supply and
demand are still matters to be solved. There is promise that through
cooperative marketing and agricultural-adjustment programs stabili-
zation and fair prices may be attained.
CREDITS
Another financial difficulty of national character in the past has
been the lack of adequate facilities for credits. The essential weak-
ness in the credit system has been its assumption that the livestock
enterprise was a gamble and a venturesome business, and its conse-
quent extension only of short-term credits at high interest. This
credit policy in no small measure contributed to mismanaged range.
The unsound basis for loans, which ignored the care of the range
and considered the number of stock as the basis for collateral, the
easy markets during prosperous times, and restricted credits during
depressed markets, have not been conducive to far-sighted plans
for range management but rather encouraged liquidation of profits
out of the range itself.
ERRONEOUS FINANCIAL PHILOSOPHY
The practices of the "free range" days laid too much emphasis
on placing all the capital investments in livestock without regard to
required investments in lands. The pioneer days of the open range
constituted, as reported elsewhere, a period when the wealth of the
stockman was measured by the total number of livestock he owned.
His home ranch and improvements made up but a small portion of
his total investment. As long as he could keep competitors off the
virgin range, his task was merely the handling of his stock. Good
years brought him big profits and bad years sometimes wiped him
out. The predominant incentive of the open free range was the
desire to increase stock ownership to the maximum. Even when
competition for the open range became acute and some attempts at
apportioning areas between the graziers was voluntarily initiated,
the desire to maintain the largest possible herds persisted.
To secure a more permanent foothold, the more farseeing and
prudent, through purchase, accumulated lands within or adjacent to
the publicly open ranges. There was never, however, any sense
of individual security that the open range used would not be en-
croached upon. This led to many a bitter range strife particularly
between cattlemen and sheepmen. While the industry suffered in
these vicious struggles, the range, the basic resource for their indus-
FINANCIAL HANDICAPS 211
try, suffered even more acutely and permanently. In many places, the
open public range was "eaten or trampled into the ground" in this
competitive strife, and still worse this range exploitation per-
sisted on the public domain and likewise on privately owned or
leased ranges held in single ownership.
A. clear understanding that the condition of the range reflects the
solvency and opportunity for profits of the livestock enterprise is
not universally accepted.
HIGH LAND VALUES
Unsound expansion by operators in lands and stock have reflected
the attitude of a new pioneer country, where superexpansion over-
rides a slower, but surer and sounder planned economy. The urge
to secure a foothold on the range, and then control, brought the in-
evitable rise in land prices beyond anything that any husbandry
could long support. High prices for poor or mediocre range lands
was just another straw on an already overloaded camel's back. In
the wake of expansion and high land prices came also the inevitable
rise in the tax base and increased taxes. These encouraged the
building up of excessive local governmental service which could not
be permanently sustained. When a break in the flow of taxes came,
tax delinquency brought complete break-down of local governmental
functions even below the margin that a rural American community
should have.
These financial problems all induced exploitation and short-term
points of view regarding the ranch and range, and with these came
depletion of the valuable natural resource, the foundation for a
profitable and enduring livestock business.
UNSUITABLE LAND POLICY
By LYLE F. WATTS, Director, Northern Rocky Mountain Forest and Range
Experiment Station
INTRODUCTION
The lack of constructive national land policy designed to fit the
semiarid and mountain grazing lands of the West has been a major
factor in the depletion of our once great range forage resource. The
belief in universal private ownership of land, the application to
such a region of land laws designed to fit humid conditions, the
failure to classify lands according to their highest use, and interpre-
tation and administration of the statutes all played a definite part.
The adverse effects of our past land policy on the ownership pattern
of range lands and its influence on forage depletion are matters for
national concern.
The range country, as defined elsewhere, roughly includes all of
the usable range lands west of the line which divides the tall-grass
prairies from the short-grass plains. While there is much country
east of this line best suited for range use and also much admirable
crop land farther west, it is generally true that only in the most
favored locations is the low annual precipitation of the semiarid
West sufficient without irrigation for permanent, successful crop
agriculture.
A brief resume of the purpose back of the acquisition by the
United States of this immense area may provide a background
which will aid in understanding the causes for the mistreatment to
which it has been subjected. During the period of acquisition, the
first half of the nineteenth century, most of that great stretch of
country from Omaha west to the Rocky Mountains was mapped as
the Great American Desert.
Here was a country, stretching all the way from the Red River to the
Canadian boundary, which seemed destined by a kind Providence to provide
a permanent home for the Indian. Here he might live undisturbed, freed
from the pressure of the westward-moving pioneer, who would never * * *
settle in that semiarid, treeless country where all efforts at agriculture must
surely fail. * * * Beyond the Missouri could never be utilized by white
men, but must ever remain the home of the wild tribes who roamed over those
frightful and terrifying wastes. (#8.)
Why, then, did we acquire this country ?
The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 (fig. 60) was made because Presi-
dent Jefferson was convinced that we must control the port of New
Orleans, then in French possession (74)- Free access to the Gulf
was essential to the development and future prosperity of the Ohio
and lower Mississippi Valleys. He sent Monroe to join Livingston,
our Ambassador to France, to bargain for the port and Napoleon
refused to relinquish the French claim unless he could include the
213
214
THE WESTERN RANGE
entire French possessions on the Mississippi River Drainage. Much
as they disliked to do so, our envoys acceded to his demands and that
immense area was added to the public domain (5).
Texas, a sovereign State which had recently won its freedom from
Mexico, was annexed in 1845. Settlement had been partly from
Mexico, but mainly through the efforts of an American colonizer,
Austin, who had been granted concessions from the Mexican Gov-
ernment (87). Through Austin's influence a large number of fron-
tiersmen from the United States had taken up land and settled in
the east portion. In self-protection against Mexico, they petitioned
for admission to the Union, and after a political battle they were
permitted to join. However, that immense area of predominantly
LOUISIANA i
PURCHASE 1
; FROM FRANCE [
! IN \803'""'\
FIGURE 60. BUILDING OF THE WESTERN RANGE LANDS.
The future range lands of the United States were acquired in huge tracts within a space
of 50 years, with little if any thought of the wealth in forage and other products and
services that they comprised. Areas in millions of acres, from General Land Office
figures are : Louisiana Purchase, 529.9 ;, Texas Annexation (independent of the Texas
Purchase of 1850), 170.2; Oregon Territory, 183.4; Texas Purchase, 78.9; Mexican
Cession, 338.7 ; Gadsden Purchase, 19.0.
range lands was considered so worthless that we refused to assume
their public debt of $10,000,000, and in lieu they retained sovereignty
over all land within their borders (14.6). Final settlement of the
boundary claims of Texas was effected in 1850, when part of the area
claimed by Texas, including part of New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colo-
rado, Wyoming, and Kansas, was acquired by purchase. Thus there
has been no Federal public domain within the present boundary of
the State of Texas.
The Oregon Territory was acquired in 1846, primarily because of
the flourishing fur trade which had been built up largely by John
Astor. This pioneer industry was so important that in spite of
objections we again included much additional land which was then
believed to be worthless. The great region acquired from Mexico in
UNSUITABLE LAND POLICY 215
1848 was wanted, partly because of agricultural or range values, but
more because we could foresee the need for the Golden Gate Harbor
and the Southern California ports. The Gadsden Purchase of 1853
was made primarily to provide an all-American route for the South-
ern Pacific Railroad (64) - Thus, range forage values seem to have
played little part and even not to have been visualized during the
period of acquisition.
The general excellence of the forage cover over the greater part
of the range country when the white man came in has been fully
described. Briefly, the 848 million acres which constituted the virgin
range supported close to its climax vegetation. Yet, within a single
life span the greater part of this resource was destined to serious
depletion. Much of the finest was to be denuded by the plow in an
attempt at cropping lands suited only for grass. Truly, we have
gone a long way to establish in fact the "Great American Desert" so
familiar on the maps of the Oregon and Santa Fe Trail days.
THE PERIOD OF DISPOSAL
The disposal of western range lands antedates the acquisition of
the West by our Government. The system followed in Texas and
the Southwest is of special significance.
Texas, the Gadsden Purchase, and the Mexican annexation were
all originally under Spanish ownership. Thus the Spanish phi-
losophy of land colonization was established over a very large area
prior to acquisition. In parts of Texas, New Mexico, and California
the beginnings of a landed aristocracy were well established. Army
officers, priests, personal friends of the ruling group, and adventur-
ers anxious to settle the new country, were favored by grants of land.
The civilization thus started, perhaps a remnant of the old feudal
system in Spain, was designed to perpetuate a landed aristocracy
and a lower caste to which land ownership was denied. Even yet
our southwestern range country exhibits a tendency toward very
large outfits to which is attached a peon type of existence.
. Exact records of the Spanish and Mexican land grants in most
instances have not been preserved. It is known that certain grants
date back as far as 1731 (87) in Texas 26 and 1773 in California.
It is probable that commitments of more or less legal nature were
made long before those dates. The period between the passage
of the Mexican land law of 1824 and acquisition of the area by the
United States, however, accounts for the great majority of land
which passed to private ownership by this method.
The various treaties of acquisition recognized the legality of land
titles secured by prior grants. However, actual surveys of the land
were made in relatively few cases. Claims to title frequently over-
lapped, or were possessed by more than one individual. Evidence
of legal title often was lacking. Thus for many years, in the Gen-
eral Land Office and in the various courts, settlement of land claims
originating during Spanish or Mexican sovereignty was a major
function. The work of the Private Court of Claims, created in 1891
28 The Texas grants are further discussed on p. 230.
216 THE WESTERN RANGE
primarily to facilitate settlement of land claims originating out
of the Mexican Cession and the Gadsden Purchase, was completed
in 1894 (74)- The best available information indicates that there
were more than 1,100 valid grants in California, New Mexico, and
Arizona covering an area of more than 19 million acres.
Despite the fact that the average size of these grants was more
than 17,000 acres and many were very much larger, most of those
which are still used as range are in no better condition than the
average of privately owned range lands. Here and there an outfit
has realized the need for protecting the forage resource, but more
often the ranges have been as seriously overstocked and as badly
abused as on other private lands.
In contrast to the landed-aristocracy philosophy back of the Span-
ish and Mexican Land Grants, the public-land policy of the United
States has been based on the democratic philosophy that all citizens
should have an equal right to share in our land disposal. Small
units only of sufficient size to support one family have been the
objective. That the plan was successful in the humid agricultural
region of the East can hardly be questioned. Had our range-land
disposal legislation been so drawn and interpreted as truly to support
this principle, it is possible that much less of our range land would
have been so seriously depleted.
It is not the purpose of this report to trace through all of the land
legislation of this country. There have been approximately 5,000
laws so classified (161). Certain laws or groups of laws have, how-
ever, had such an important bearing on range depletion that some
special consideration of them seems essential.
THE HOMESTEAD LAWS
A land policy for the United States was first formulated by Alex-
ander Hamilton, who believed that the public lands, if sold in small
tracts to settlers, would furnish a very great source of revenue for
the Government. Although emphasis in the early land ordinances
was placed on the revenue feature (15J+, P- 637) there was very gen-
eral recognition that the price must be kept sufficiently low as to be
no hindrance to rapid colonization. Revenue, as a major factor in
land disposal, survived for only a short period, but the belief that
all lands should pass to private ownership in small tracts became
firmly fixed (74) Laws designed to pass title direct to the settler
were made less restrictive with each change.
The basic homestead law was passed in 1862 prior to the settle-
ment of the semiarid range country west of Omaha, which was still
"the Indian country." To be sure gold had been discovered in Cali-
fornia, Montana, Idaho, and Colorado, and a flourishing agriculture
was growing up in the valleys around these camps. The missions
throughout the West had established themselves primarily on a basis
of irrigated crop agriculture and livestock husbandry. Yet settle-
ments were few and far between and the hardships of the Oregon
and Santa Fe Trails were too real to encourage any thought of
wholesale settlement. And then came the cattle.
UNSUITABLE LAND POLICY 217
Herds, as discussed in another section, built up around the de-
mand for beef in the camps and for oxen to replace worn-out ani-
mals in the immigrant trains, expanded and made their owners
independent. Texas cattlemen, without a market for their surplus
stock after the Civil War, discovered the possibility of trailing to
better ranges to the north for fattening. In the span of a few
years almost the entire West was explored and stocked over-
stocked with cattle.
Many of the ranches experimented with crop raising around head-
quarters, mainly to winter the saddle stock and a few milch cows.
Gardens were grown. Far-sighted stockmen soon realized that ef-
fective control of their range was tied in with control of the avail-
able stock water. Legal possession was essential to permanence in
the right to use such key tracts. The 160-acre homestead law was
the best way out.
Even though one man could acquire only 160 acres under this law,
it was simple enough and not too questionable morally, to have a
cow hand file and prove up on another key tract while working for
the outfit. If he slept in the shack or sodhouse once in a while, had
an old stove and some tin dishes and left a worn-out shirt hanging
on a nail, it certainly was his home. There were plenty of cow
punchers and plenty of others who were glad to make a few dollars
by proving up on a claim. Then someone discovered that he had a
key tract and no legal obligation to transfer the title which he got
from the Government. So he "upped the price" and made a real
stake. Another, more ambitious, decided that with his homestead,
which included the only water for miles, he was a potential cow-
man and bought a few head of cattle. A new outfit was in the live-
stock business. Thus the principle of passing title to a sufficient
area to support a family was never applied in the range country
even from the beginning of settlement.
Gradually the news spread that there was opportunity in the
Plains country and the rush of homesteaders began. That the land
was ill suited to crop agriculture and that 160 acres would not sup-
port a family did not worry the settlers and apparently did not in-
fluence the administration of the law. Data segregating from the
rest of the United States the homestead history of the range States
are not available. However, the bulk of the lands in the tall-grass
prairies and eastward had passed to private ownership before 1870.
Thus table 40 and figure 61 give a fair indication of the rate of
homesteading in the semi arid West. The phenomenal increase in
acreage patented in the period beginning in 1913 was due to a lib-
eralization of the law which permitted proof to be made after 21
months of residence, instead of after 5 years. This was known as
the 3-year homestead law of 1912.
218
THE WESTERN RANGE
TABLE 40. Final homestead entries from passage of act to June 80, 1935 l
(commuted hamesteads not inchtded)
Fiscal year
Number
of entries
Area,
acres
Fiscal year
Number
of entries
Area,
acres
1868 _.
2,772
355, 086
1902
31 627
4 342 748
1869
3,965
504 302
1903
26 373
3 576 964
1870
4,041
519, 728
1904
23, 932
3 232 717
1871
5,087
629, 162
1905
24 621
3 419 387
1872
5 917
707 410
1906
25 546
3 526 749
1873 .
10, 311
1, 224, 891
1907
26' 485
3 740 568
1874
14,129
1, 585, 782
1908
29 636
4 242 711
1875
18,293
2, 068, 538
1909
25,510
3 699 467
1876
22, 530
2, 590, 553
1910
23 253
3 795 863
1877
19,900
2, 407, 828
1911
25, 908
4, 620, 197
1878
22,460
2, 662, 981
1912
24 326
4 306 069
1879..-
17, 391
2, 070, 842
1913
53, 252
10, 009, 285
1880
15, 441
1, 938, 235
1914
48, 724
9 291, 121
1881
15, 077
1, 928, 205
1915
37 343
7 180 982
1882
17, 174
2, 219, 454
1916
37, 958
7, 278, 281
1883
18, 998
2, 504, 415
1917
43 727
8 497 390
1884
21, 843
2 945 575
1918
41 319
8 236 438
1885 .
22, 066
3, 032, 679
1919
32, 623
6, 524, 760
1886
19, 356
2, 663, 532
1920
39 774
8 372 696
1887
19, 866
2, 749, 037
1921
33,889
7, 726, 740
1888
22, 413
3, 175, 401
1922
30 919
7 307 034
1889
25,549
3, 681, 709
1923 .
22,420
5, 594, 259
1890
28,080
4, 060, 593
1924
18,046
4 791,436
1891
27, 686
3 954 588
1925
14 675
4 048 911
1892
22, 822
3, 259, 897
1926
12, 244
3, 451, 106
1893
24, 204
3, 477, 232
1927
9 315
2 583,627
1894
20,544
2, 929, 947
1928
6,667
1, 815, 549
1895
20,922
2, 980, 809
1929
6,240
1, 700, 950
1896 -
20, 099
2, 790, 243
1930
4,973
1, 371, 073
1897
20,115
2, 778, 404
1931
4,848
1, 352, 861
1898
22, 281
3, 095, 018
1932
4,077
1,209,894
1899
22, 812
3, 134, 140
1933
3,066
906, 578
1900-.-
25, 286
3, 477, 843
1934.--
3,608
1, 123, 673
1901
37, 568
5, 241, 121
1935
4,902
1, 640, 393
i Data from U. S. Department of the Interior, General Land Office.
The use of water for irrigation at the mouth of mountain valleys
proved so successful that this scheme of crop production in the
semiarid region took gradual form. Where the cost of water diver-
sion was beyond the means of one settler, groups combined to share
the expense. From small beginnings this procedure has grown to
large proportions and the Federal Government now finances projects
through the Reclamation Service. That this development has been
the major contribution to permanent crop agriculture in the West is
generally recognized. Low-value, semiarid land, worthless except
for natural forage, has been converted through irrigation into some
of our most productive communities. To a large degree the success-
ful use of adjacent range lands is dependent upon the forage raised
in irrigated valleys. But there is a limit to the lands so situated that
irrigation is feasible or possible; and even more important, there is
a limit to the water available. There is little criticism against the
homestead laws as applied to lands on which irrigation was practical.
As stated above, only a small part of the western range States can
be irrigated (159). In Montana only 1.7 percent of the total land
area has been placed under irrigation and not more than 2.8 percent
can be so utilized. In Utah the corresponding percentages are 2.5
and 3.3. Even in California where the markets are close at hand
and the climate is such as to permit of raising semitropical fruits,
only 4.8 percent has been placed under irrigation to date.
And then someone discovered that dry-land farming was a possi-
bility, and that under the influence of favorable years these virgin
UNSUITABLE LAND POLICY
219
grasslands could be made to grow wheat. That it had taken nature
centuries to build up a few inches of fertile topsoil, that frequent
and severe drought would result in crop failure, that the "summer-
fallowing" practice was likely to facilitate wind erosion just as
much as moisture conservation these facts were not realized. Mil-
lions of acres of excellent native grassland passed to private owner-
50
40
30
. 20
8
1
1868 1873 1878 1883 1888 1893 1898 1903 1908 1913 1918 1923 1928
to to to to to to to to to to to to to
1872 1877 1882 1887 1892 1897 1902 1907 1912 1917 1922 1927 1932
FIGURE 61. THE RISE AND FALL OF HOMESTEADING IN THE WEST.
Homesteading east of the short-grass country had already slackened by 1868. These
bars showing the acreage patented up to 1933 indicate, in the main, the sweep and
decline of range-land homesteading. The sharp advance in the 1913-17 period is
largely explained by the passage of the so-called Three-year Homestead Act of 1912.
ship under the homestead laws in a disastrous attempt to do what
nature would not permit. Other millions of acres were filed on and
broken up but were abandoned even before patent was issued. To-
day the semiarid West is dotted with abandoned shacks where a
worn-out tractor stands back of the fallen-down barn, witnessing
what has proved to be the crowning mistake of an attempt to force
low- value lands into private ownership for crop agriculture.
220 THE WESTERN KANGE
Since the effects of the homestead law on the range resource can-
not be segregated from the effects of all land-disposal laws, detailed
discussion will be reserved for later presentation; but this much
should be said here : The homestead law made no provision for ade-
quate classification of the land to determine its suitability for crop
agriculture. There is valid question whether this lack of a specific
mandate need have prevented such action, but in any event no means
was worked out by which waterholes and other key areas could be
withdrawn from entry as were the power sites jn the early part of
the twentieth century on the national forests. Also the income of
registers and receivers of land offices has been based largely on num-
ber of entries and acreage of land disposed of, thus further empha-
sizing disposal rather than sound principles of land use.
ENLARGED HOMESTEAD ACTS
Early in the settlement of the West it became apparent that the
160-acre homestead did not fit the climatic and soil conditions of
most of the semiarid region. President Grant visited the Mountain
States in 1875 and in his message to Congress in December of that
year (59) said:
In territory where cultivation of the soil can only be followed by irrigation,
and where irrigation is not practicable the lands can only be used as pastur-
age, and this only where stock can reach water cannot be governed by the
laws as to entries as lands every acre of which is an independent estate of
itself. Land must be held in larger quantities to justify the expense of con-
ducting water upon it to make it fruitful or to justify utilizing it as pasturage.
Powell (107) in his report of 1878 recognized the fact that a large
acreage of irrigated land per individual was neither necessary or de-
sirable from the standpoint of western development. He was per-
haps the first to express the viewpoint that our land-disposal policy
must coordinate crop agriculture, water use, and grazing. His plan
contemplated group action for irrigation, provision for free use of
water for stock, and a large acreage (2,560-acre minimum) of range
land to round out an economic home unit.
In spite of the growing appreciation that crop agriculture was un-
suited to much of the West and that economic range use must be
substituted as the basis for land disposal, laws continued to pass
which encouraged passage of title to private ownership with little
regard to the area required, under proper use, to support a family.
The Kinkaid Act of 1904, restricted in application to the excel-
lent grazing country of western Nebraska was intended to main-
tain the fundamental principles of the homestead idea. The House
Public Land Committee (74) in recommending its passage said:
Increase in the area of homestead above that provided by the original
Homestead Law made with the view of compensating the homesteader, in
a measure, in quantity of land for what the land lacks in quality and
productiveness.
Within 10 years after the passage of the act, which increased the
area of the homestead to 640 acres, practically all available lands
under the act had been entered. That this act did not accomplish the
purpose for which it was passed is established by the fact that much
of the land of the original "Kinkaiders", long since abandoned for
cropping, has been included in larger units for strictly range use.
UNSUITABLE LAND POLICY 221
The Enlarged Homestead Act of 1909, originally restricted in ap-
plication to 9 States but later broadened to include 12, was even
less wisely conceived. In the first place the homestead size was
limited to 320 acres. It provided that one-fourth of the area be
cultivated, that residence be the same as on all homesteads, and that
none of the land be irrigable. Clearly the law was intended to in-
clude grazing lands, usually as pasturage for 160-acre homesteads
already occupied. Yet it placed a premium on dry-farming through
the requirement of cultivation. Although less than 3 million acres
was acquired under the provisions of this act, it had a bad effect
on range management in that it provided one more method for
breaking up into very small units grazing lands which could not
economically be so handled, and encouraged the plowing under of
good forage in order to get title to the land.
Irrigation was first made into a cooperative institution by the
Mormons under that able colonizer, Brigham Young. That special
legislation was required for this type of development was soon ap-
parent. The Commissioner of the General Land Office in his report
for 1875 (162) in discussing the application of this system to the
land, said:
For their reclamation a system necessarily expensive, because involving canals
or main ditches of great length and size, is required; and, hence, associated
capital must be called upon to furnish the means of success. But the security
for its repayment, even the inducement to furnish it, must be found in the
lands to be benefited.
The solution offered by this report was the public sale at the Gov-
ernment price of suitable lands west of the one hundredth meridian.
The first legislation passed specifically to advance irrigation agri-
culture was the Desert Land Act of 1877 (74) which provided for the
sale of 640 acres of land to a settler who would irrigate it within 3
years. Payment of 25 cents per acre was required at the time of
filing and $1 at the time final proof was made. Although less than
10 million acres have gone to patent under .this act, it has served as
another approach to misuse of the range. By making desert entries
only on the land which included water holes, stockmen could control
large tracts of range land for a period of 3 years at a very small
cost per acre. Thus, the acreage patented is no measure of the ex-
tent to which this law was used in the competition for control of
the range.
It is significant that ample provision to correct many of the abuses
which were prevalent under this law was made in 1888. At that
time a law was passed (74) which directed that all lands selected
as sites for reservoirs, canals, and ditches and all lands susceptible
of irrigation by such means be withdrawn from entry. Despite this
sweeping bit of legislation, no constructive action was taken to cor-
rect the situation.
THE GRAZING HOMESTEAD LAW
Shortly after the cattle boom of the eighties, farsighted men
began to realize that the range resource was not in fact inexhaustible.
Reports began to spread that the ranges were overcrowded and as a
result were being permanently damaged. In recognition of this,
President Theodore Roosevelt in 1903 appointed a commission con-
222 THE WESTERN RANGE
sisting of W. A. Kichards, Commissioner of the General Land Office,
F. H. Newell, Chief Engineer of the Reclamation Service, and Gif-
ford Pinchot, Forester of the Department of Agriculture, to make
an investigation, report upon conditions, and recommend such
changes as were needed in the land laws. The report of this com-
mission (146) submitted] by the President to Congress in 1905-6
clearly set forth what was happening :
The general lack of control in the use of public grazing lands has resulted,
naturally and inevitably, in overgrazing and the ruin of millions of acres of
otherwise valuable grazing territory. Lands useful for grazing are losing their
only capacity for productiveness, as, of course, they must when no legal control
is exercised.
Included in this report were the results of a study made by A. F.
Potter, who through extremely wide acquaintance with stockmen of
the West, was able to get an expression of opinion from some 1,400
stockmen well distributed over the range States. The preponderance
of the expressions were favorable to some sort of Federal adminis-
tration of grazing on the public domain. This coincided with the
views of the commission. They made such a recommendation and
strongly urged that the range lands be withdrawn from selection
under the homestead and desert homestead laws. No constructive
action was taken. On the contrary, by 1916 pressure became so
great that the most unfortunate of the land-disposal laws as applied
to range lands was enacted, the Grazing Homestead Act.
Instead of recognizing the similarity in principle between the
treatment required for timber lands and that required for low-value
range lands and providing a companion act to the Forest Reserve
Act passed in 1891, we clung to the private-ownership philosophy.
Bad as have been the effects of this law, there was within it one
provision subject to an interpretation which could have prevented
most of the difficulty :
The Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized, on application or other-
wise, to designate as stock-raising lands subject to entry under this act, lands
the surface of which is, in his opinion, chiefly valuable for grazing and raising
forage crops, do not contain merchantable timber, are not susceptible of irri-
gation from any known source of water supply, and are of such character that
640 acres are reasonably required for the support of a family.
The actual interpretation which has been given the above clause
has been so completely at variance with that contemplated at the
time the law was passed that some discussion is essential. A study
of the facts has been made by Dr. E. A. Sherman, Assistant Chief.
United States Forest Service, who says :
Associate Forester Albert F. Potter, on December 9, 1916, while the measure
was in conference, called the attention of Assistant Secretary of the Interior
Finney to the above language, and suggested that the last clause be amended
to read, "and are of such character that 640 acres may reasonably be expected
to support a family." Mr. Finney reported that Secretary Lane (Interior)
approved the change, and, under instructions from Secretary Houston (Agri-
culture), Mr. Potter presented it to Congressman Scott Ferris, who called the
conferees together and secured favorable consideration of Mr. Potter's pro-
posal. All of the conferees were in favor of the amendment, but ruled that
it would be subject to a point of order, arid it was therefore not included.
Congressman William Kent, of California, opposed the measure in conference
because he was fearful that as worded it would permit the classification of all
lands which were not of a character on which a man could make a living on
less than 640 acres. This resulted in a conference with Assistant Secretaries
UNSUITABLE LAND POLICY 223
Finney and Vogelsang, Mr. Mahaffey, Forester H. S. Graves, and Associate
Forester Albert F. Potter. The representatives of the Department of the Inte-
rior contended that the Secretary of the Interior was given a wide discretion and
need designate "only such lands as in his opinion were suitable for the pur-
poses of the law", with the understanding that the lands to be designated
would be passed on by the United States Geological Survey and would be of
such a character that 640 acres "may reasonably be expected to support a
family." The measure was thereupon accepted by the representatives of the
Department of Agriculture. Mr. Kent withdrew his objection, and Secretary
of Agriculture Houston advised the President that :
"The Secretary of the Interior is required to designate the lands as 'stock-
raising lands' before they may be entered, and he can designate only such lands
'the surface of which is, in his opinion, chiefly valuable for grazing and raising
forage crops, do not contain merchantable timber, and are not susceptible of
irrigation from any known source of water supply, and are of such character
that 640 acres are reasonably required for the support of a family.' As I
interpret it, in order to designate such lands, the Secretary must of necessity
have a classification made. He cannot permit any applicant to secure a home-
stead in excess of 640 acres, and he must have reasonable assurance that the
640 acres applied for will be reasonably required for the support of a family.
I do not understand that there could be created under the act a homestead
of 640 acres on which the entryman might not reasonably expect to support
his family."
With the foregoing understanding, Secretary Houston raising no objection
to the approval of the measure as finally passed, it was signed by President
Wilson and became a law.
For a time the Geological Survey appears to have endeavored to adhere to
the requirement that in order to be classified as subject to entry under the
stockl-raising homestead law the land must be capable of supporting a family
on 640 acres and millions of acres were so classified, but political pressure
resulting in adverse rulings by the Department forced abandonment of the
policy for a rule-of-thumb requirement that the land be capable of supporting
not less than 30 head of cattle yearlong for each 640-acre entry. This was in
turn abandoned for the same reasons, and most anything short of absolute
desert was given stock-raising homestead classification. Testifying before the
House Oommittee on Public Lands, February 18, 1934, Congressman Taylor,
of Colorado, stated that up to June 30, 1933, 24,326,349 acres of land had
passed to patent, and an additional 124,669,640 acres had been classified and
designated as subject to the act.
The upshot of the whole matter was another outstanding example of a rea-
sonably good law unwisely and improvidently administered. The Department
of Agriculture had conceived the purpose of the bill to be the establishment
of "stock-raising homes" and not "stock-raising entries."
The extent to which the stock-raising homestead law has been used
is shown by tables 41 and 42. It is significant that of the more than
08 million acres entered under this law only approximately 26 mil-
lion acres have gone to patent and only about 14 million acres are
now pending. Thus nearly 28 million acres are represented by
entries which were abandoned before proof was made. The finan-
cial and spiritual toll exacted from tens of thousands of families that
were permitted to try a venture in which they were doomed to failure
is a convincing confutation of the theory, "Let the purchaser beware."
224
THE WESTERN RANGE
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UNSUITABLE LAND POLICY
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226 THE WESTERN RANGE
LAND SCRIPT, MINERAL LAWS, AND OTHER ACTS
Although the various homestead laws account for the great bulk
of the land which has passed direct from the public domain to
Erivate ownership, many other methods to accomplish this purpose
ave been legalized. The issuance of script redeemable in land to
be taken from the public domain has not been uncommon. Eastern
States, not so fortunate as to contain public domain, and Texas, have
been issued land script to the extent of 7,830,000 acres to be selected
in public-land States for the support of education. Recognition of
the obligation which the Nation owes to soldiers of the various wars
has been met in part by the issuance of land script covering more
than 1.6 million acres of public lands (35} . These promises of lands
were made transferable and therefore soon found their way into the
channels of trade. During certain periods the buying and selling
of script assumed major proportions on the stock markets. It is
impossible to estimate the extent to which script was used in acquir-
ing range lands, but it is well known that a great part was gathered
in by timber companies as one means of bringing about the consolida-
tion of ownership of the choicest timberlands of the West.
Mineral and coal land disposal under the various laws had taken
less than 4 million acres by 1931. Although no objection is here
raised to the validity of encouraging the development of mining by
this method, it is unfortunate that the mining laws have at times
been used for purposes not intended under the laws. Too often
mining claims of questionable mineral value have been located in
the heart of range units or to control the use of water. Thus proper
range management has been made more difficult. Coordinated use
of our natural resources, under which the needs of the mines and
miners are given full consideration, would seem to be a more logical
principle to follow than that of passing to patent or control a graz-
ing resource in which the patentee presumably is only incidentally
interested.
Many methods other than those discussed have been used to pass
to private ownership title to range lands, but the principles involved
and the effects on range depletion are similar. The Timber Culture
Acts, the Timber and Stone Act, the Carey Reclamation Act, and
the various cash-sale provisions are a few that should be listed even
though space limitations prevent discussion.
RAILROAD AND OTHER INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT GRANTS
Perhaps the main deterrent to rapid settlement and development
of the West was the lack of adequate transportation facilities. The
idea that the disposal of public lands should aid in solving this
problem was early conceived. Precedent for the use on a large scale
of the proceeds from the sale of public lands is first found in the
Enabling Act of the State of Ohio in 1802 (74) . It provided that
5 percent of the gross receipts from such sales should be made avail-
able and used for the building of public roads. Following this,
grants for transportation development were numerous. Some were
made to States with stipulations as to how the money was to be
used, but more frequently the grant was direct to the railroad as a
subsidy to aid in financing the original construction. This phase
UNSUITABLE LAND POLICY
227
of our land-disposal policy reached its peak in the sixties when the
grants to the Union Pacific, Central Pacific, Northern Pacific, Santa
Fe, and Southern Pacific were consummated. The magnificence of
these subsidies soon raised so much opposition that the practice was
stopped with the exception of relatively minor grants for the pur-
pose of financing a few branch lines, connecting links, and to aid in
consolidations. Altogether, as shown in table 43, more than 101 mil-
lion acres were granted to States and corporations to advance rail-
road building in the range country. Figure 62 presents graphically
their extent and location.
TABLE 43. Status of railroad grants
State
Original
grants >
Present
holding rail-
roads 8
Additional
grants to
States for
railroad
and wagon
roads *
Arizona
Acres
8 419 505
Acres
5 3 770 896
Acres
California
11,481,459
2 008, 461
Colorado
3,826,881
34,350
Idaho
1, 015, 479
570, 148
Kansas
7, 849, 592
4,735
4, 634, 237
Montana
14, 342, 510
3, 516, 441
Nebraska...
7, 657, 737
18,611
Nevada
4,988,075
4, 440, 078
New Mexico
3, 464, 049
1, 437, 521
North Dakota
10, 301, 912
16, 354
Oklahoma
3,397
Oregon
3, 489, 499
192, 559
2, 583, 890
South Dakota 7 __
4,953
Texas 8
136, 194
Utah
2, 277, 839
673, 281
Washington
9, 930, 543
1, 531, 596
Wyoming
5, 104, 786
938, 603
Total
94 149 866
19,298 178
7 218 127
Bureau of Railway Economics unpublished data as of June 30, 1933.
From unpublished data of Interstate Commerce Commission, 1934.
3 Exclusive of rights-of-way and urban property.
4 These lands were transferred to construction companies or railroads.
Includes 3,755,581 acres transferred to holding company for Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad Co.
Includes 1,431,641 acres transferred to holding company for Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad Co.
7 Small acreage included with North Dakota.
8 The railroad lands in Texas were direct grants by the State total grants to railroads, 32,153,878 acres
While the stipulations differed in the various grants, the usual pro-
cedure was to include all of the alternate sections for a distance vary-
ing as between grants from 10 to 40 miles on each side of the right-of-
way. Provision was made for the selection of "lieu lands", generally
within 10 miles beyond this limit, in lieu of lands which had already
been settled, were mineral in character, or for any other reason were
not available to the railroad company. That the railroad grants
accomplished their major purpose cannot be questioned. Transcon-
tinental lines were financed and pushed through much sooner than
they otherwise would have been.
In the final analysis these grants were intended to encourage
passage of title to private owners in small tracts similar to the home-
stead law. Stipulations were usually included which controlled the
price at which the land could be offered for sale and which required
that it be offered by a certain specified time after construction.
Table 43 shows that in the range States more than 19 million acres
still remain in railroad ownership.
228
THE WESTERN RANGE
It is significant that in the administration of the railroad -grant
laws the Federal land policy of passing of title to private ownership
is clearly shown. Vigorous protests by the Forest Service against
further patenting of land to the Northern Pacific Co. resulted in the
passage of Public Resolution 24, Sixty-eighth Congress, on June 5,
National Forests and Purchase Units
National Parks and Monuments
^ Indian Reservations
Established Grazing Districts
External limits of railroad and
other road grants
\
FIGURE 62. HOW RAILROAD GRANTS COMPLICATED THE OWNERSHIP PATTERN.
The various railroad land grants of alternate sections within the limits shown above
included an extremely large acreage of grazing lands. Federal reservations and with-
drawals later overlapped these grants. These grants still complicate the ownership
pattern.
1924. Among other provisions this resolution created a joint com-
mittee of both Houses of Congress to make a complete investigation
of the Northern Pacific land grants. Hearings were held and the
complete record was submitted to the Attorney General for analysis
and advice. His findings (H*7) are summarized:
UNSUITABLE LAND POLICY 229
A consideration of the foregoing suggestions indicates that not only does no
deficiency exist in the grants but that the company has already received approxi-
mately 5 million acres of public land which it has not earned and is not
entitled to.
Final disposition of this case is still in the courts.
Naturally the land-disposal policy of the railroads has had two
purposes: (1) The conversion of land into money and (2) the set-
tlement at the most rapid rate of the territory served. High-pressure
salesmanship was resorted to in furtherance of these aims. Certain
roads even went so far as to open land offices in the capitals of
Europe. Here was developed the land agents' viewpoint on a whole-
sale basis. Colonization schemes destined to failure were undertaken
on a grand scale. The ease of irrigation, and the profits to be had
from dry-land farming were presented in glowing terms. Thus
many more millions of acres of typical range land, unsuited to crop
agriculture, were put to the plow.
Fortunately the sales policy of most of those roads which still have
lands to sell has reversed. It is now realized that, in the long run.
the railroads can benefit only as the individual purchaser is success-
ful. Misuse of the land is discouraged. Purchasers destined to fail-
ure because of inexperience are not solicited, and prices are set at the
figure at which the purchaser has a chance to retain title. In most
instances the railroads are in the vanguard of the movement to bring
about some orderly plan of action which will insure stable and profit-
able use of the land. However, the checkerboard pattern of the rail-
road holdings makes difficult any sort of blocking up of range-land
tenure in tracts of sufficient size to permit of economical livestock
operations. In the establishment of one large grazing district in
Montana, however, the Northern Pacific Co. took a leading part.
Their own holdings, which were a large percentage of the total, were
turned in to the grazing association at a very low rental price.
A part of the railroad lands are given relatively good management.
Those sections which fall within the national forests usually can be
used only in connection with adjoining lands. Thus they are usually
leased by a national-forest permittee who turns them in to the Forest
Service for a permit to graze the number of stock equivalent to the
determined grazing capacity of the land.
Not much can be said in favor of the range practice required on
most of the railroad lands. It consists simply in leasing the lands
without restrictions as to numbers of stock to be grazed or the season
during which the land may be so used. Presumably it is assumed
that the lessor will protect the resource. As a usual practice the
lands are first offered to the logical local user or users. If the lease
is not thus taken up, the lands are then offered to the highest bidder,
who more often than not secured the land for less than the annual
taxes assessed against it. Much of the land is never leased at all,
because it is so badly intermingled with other holdings that it can-
not be protected from trespass.
230 THE WESTERN RANGE
STATUS OF LANDS REMAINING IN PUBLIC OWNERSHIP
TEXAS LANDS
The treaty of annexation of Texas, signed in 1845, provided, as
already stated, that the new State would retain title to the lands
within its borders. Thus we have an example of land disposal on a
large scale by the individual State. That the land-ownership pattern
of Texas is extremely complicated can be more readily understood if
it is realized that previous to its annexation by the United States it
had been, first, a Spanish Province, then in 1820 a part of the "State
of Coahuila and Texas" under the Government of Mexico, and lastly,
a sovereign independent nation.
The first title to land in Texas probably dates back to 1731 under
a grant from Spain (87). From that date until 1819 various large
and small grants were made by the Spanish Kings. In most instances
the motive back of the grant was the extension of the Catholic religion
and the colonization of the province. Although permanent settle-
ments through Spanish efforts seem to have been a failure, it is esti-
mated that private title to about 10 million acres of land 27 goes back
to this source.
The Mexican influence on land ownership in Texas is very pro-
nounced. It too was designed to encourage settlement and perpetuate
the ruling religion, but it did set up a land-disposal scheme which had
some merit. Under it, with certain restrictions as to residence and
citizenship, an area of land varying from 177 acres of tillable land to
4,251 acres of grazing land could be secured by one individual. In
addition, anyone who would organize a colony of 100 or more families
received a liberal reward in land. Though many minor changes and
modifications were made, the system thus started remained in effect
until 1845 as the land policy of the Republic of Texas. Under the
system more than 16 million acres passed to private ownership.
Texas, as a State, as shown in the following tabulation (14%) > nas
used almost every known device except the lottery system in its
public-land disposal.
Acres
Grants by Spain and Mexico 26,268,000
State university 2, 221, 400
Kiamasha Road 27, 000
To build State capitol 3,050,000
County courthouses , 640
San Jacinto Veterans 1,169,382
Disabled Confederates 1, 979, 852
Homestead donations (preemption) 4,847,136
Internal improvements , 4, 061, 000
Counties for schools 4,229,166
Headright and bounties 36,876,492
Colonies___ - 4, 494, 806
Railroads 32, 153, 878
Asylums , 400, 000
Public free schools 42, 400, 556
Total 164,191,308
27 Some estimates are as high as 20 million acres (87).
UNSUITABLE LAND POLICY 231
Free homesteading has been encouraged, soldiers have been reim-
bursed in land and in land script, construction companies were paid
in land for the construction of public buildings, large quantities
were donated for internal improvements, it has been sold outright
as a means of raising revenue, and an enormous area has been used
to endow the public schools and institutions of higher education.
Thus the land history of Texas is similar to that of the Nation ex-
cept that more consideration was given to the relationship of size
to intended use. That private range lands in Texas have been de-
pleted to substantially the same degree as have those in adjoining
States is evidence that size is not the only answer to the proper
use of such a resource. Current profits, inadequate finances, and
failure to consider the forage as a renewable resource seem to have
controlled here as elsewhere.
Those lands which remain in the various forms of State or in-
stitutional ownership are managed primarily for the greatest cur-
rent revenue. No adequate provision has been made in leases and
use agreements to perpetuate watershed values of the range forage
resource at a permanent high level. Cents per acre rather carrying
capacity has controlled in large measure.
In all of the range States except Texas, State ownership of land
largely goes back to Federal grants for educational purposes or for
public or semipublic improvements.
STATE GRANTS
That the use of public lands for educational purposes and for essen.
tial public improvements was a laudable purpose has been demon-
strated. Our common-school system, our land-grant colleges, and
our other favored institutions have benefited greatly. That they
might have benefited more in the long run under a plan of land
management which would have protected the range resource for
both present and future generations seems equally clear.
Proposals that a portion of the public lands or of the receipts from
the sale of public lands be distributed to the States probably orig-
inated in 1824 when a proposal was made that money from the sale
of lands be invested, and the interest therefrom be distributed
among the States. The following year a congressional committee
was appointed to investigate the possibilities of such a plan with
special reference to the possibility of using the money to finance a
public-school system and of the effect of such a plan on the coloniza-
tion and development of the United States (74) The committee
report was favorable, but the question was destined to occupy the
middle of the political stage many years before the principle wa?
finally accepted.
It is not the purpose of this report to present the detailed history
of Federal grants to the States of lands or money from the sale of
lands. The system was followed and has done much to foster the
cause of education and public improvements. Table 44 shows the
extent of such grants and present ownership in the western range
States.
232 THE WESTERN RANGE
TABLE 44. State land status for 17 entire Western States
State
Original
grants
Total
present
ownership
Range land
owned
Range land
leased
Administrative agency of State
lands
Arizona
Acres
10,542,113
Acres
8 356 497
Acres
8 242 497
Acres
7 380 000
California
8, 427, 077
1, 040, 594
448 360
20 499
Division of State lands depart*
Colorado
4,433 538
3 182 102
2 925 737
2 426 165
ment of finance.
Idaho
3, 632, 157
2 881 285
1 291 338
1 798 964
sioners.
Kansas
3, 606, 910
71 302
71 302
sioner 's department .
Montana
5, 869, 618
4 861 998
4 219 998
2 982 985
Nebraska ...
3, 458, 711
1 724 143
1 574 143
1 i 601 549
investments.
Nevada
2, 723, 647
126, 587
117, 587
2 None
and buildings.
New Mexico
12, 732, 694
12, 697, 651
12, 186, 651
3 10 700 000
register.
Commissioner of public lands
North Dakota
3, 163, 551
1,855 055
1 556 901
1 173 432
Oklahoma
3 095 760
989 880
469 880
137 641
school lands.
Oregon
4,375 429
611 927
540 767
29 524
office.
South Dakota
3, 434, 203
3 931 059
3 356 346
2 623 427
its department.
Texas.
22,425 903
19 964 436
2 270 285
lie lands.
General Land Office of Texas
Utah
7, 464, 276
2 800 000
2 297 300
287 861
Washington
3, 044, 471
2, 230, 796
1, 196 976
468 522
State land commissioner of pub-
Wyoming
4,138 569
3 567 242
3 222 242
3 050 058
lic lands.
and farm loans.
Total
84 142 724
73 354 021
63 682 461
36 950 912
1 Probably includes agricultural lands.
No State lands leased; all are sold outright or on long-time payment plan.
J Includes small percentage of agricultural lands.
As a result of apparent fraud in disposing of land in the earlier
grants, most of the grants, or the State constitutions, placed limita-
tions on freedom of action in disposing of the land. Obviously the
main reason back of the restrictions was a fear that State govern-
ments would be dominated by political influence and as a result the
lands would be disposed of as political or personal favors and at a
fraction of their true value. Thus, in most grants, stipulations as
to minimum selling prices and restrictions on sales are to be found.
In several States the minimum price was so high in relation to
resource values that it prevented disposal of any but the best land.
Apparently the price set was based on the belief that all. land would
ultimately command a substantial price and on a desire to obtain
all that the traffic would bear in State land disposal.
Regardless of the justification from other standpoints, range man-
agement on State lands has been seriously hampered by the scat-
tered geographic distribution of the land over the States. The usual
custom has been to designate sections 16 and 36 of each township
as common-school land. In Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah sections
2 and 32 were also so designated. Only in Nevada was this problem
avoided; here, in lieu of a grant of named sections, the State ulti-
mately was given the right to select from any unreserved and unap-
propriated public lands 2 million acres for common-school purposes
This distribution in small units, rather than in tracts of sufficient
size for efficient administration, would go far toward preventing the
UNSUITABLE LAND POLICY 233
application of sound range management principles even if those re-
sponsible for the handling of such lands so desired.
The State of Nevada based the location of its school-land selections
on salability, especially as influenced by the control of water, which
was especially vital to the use of the range. Thus in this instance
the State land furnished the key to the use of an immense area of
surrounding public domain, and this explains in part why such a
large part of Nevada's common-school land has passed to private
ownership.
Attempts at consolidation of State land in the public-land States
of the West in blocks large enough for management have been made
with more or less success. The greatest aid to this endeavor has been
the various lieu selection acts. Title to land granted the States did
not pass until the lands were surveyed and the survey accepted.
Meanwhile the State grant might be defeated as to a given area
either by settlement prior to survey or by inclusion in some reserva-
tion in which case title did not pass so long as the land was reserved.
To meet such situations equitably the States were given the right to
select an equal area of nonmineral, unreserved and unoccupied,
surveyed public land anywhere within the same State, regardless of
value. This provision proved of great value, especially where na-
tional forest reservations embodied great areas of unsurveyed, r^ugh
mountain land. The theoretical school sections were promptly Bur-
rendered, and the best of the remaining unreserved public domain
was selected instead.
In 1907, in order to facilitate and encourage consolidation and
management of State lands, the Forest Service agreed to eliminate
certain agreed-upon areas from the national forests for selection
by the various States on an "equal area equal value" exchange
basis. In some States part or most of the selected land was primarily
valuable for grazing. This was true in part in Montana, Idaho,
Washington, Wyoming, New Mexico, and other States.
Likewise, in a few States exchanges of patented State lands within
the national forests for other unreserved lands of equal area and
value have aided materially in consolidation. That other States
have not followed a similar course results in part from a lack of
permissive legislation.
It should be added that in most grants, other than those for the
support of the common schools, the States were permitted to select
the specified area from any unreserved and unappropriated public
domain. This was true with the large grants for the various State
colleges and universities and for many internal improvements. In
many instances these selections were made in blocks of large size.
In many of the States it has been the practice to invest the receipts
from the sale or lease of State land in real-estate mortgages. A
large part of these investments were made during the dry-farm
boom and were for amounts which we now know were in excess
of the actual worth of the land. Although foreclosures have been
avoided when possible, some States have by this means acquired a
substantial additional acreage of denuded lands and are destined
to acquire much more. Here again the land distribution is in small
units and serves to add to the confusing pattern of State land
ownership.
234 THE WESTERN RANGE
The handling of State range land has been based almost wholly
on a desire to secure the maximum current revenue. 28 Sale of the
maximum acreage has been encouraged without regard for the fitness
of the land for private ownership. Leasing has usually been with
a view to securing the greatest possible price. No provision has been
made for the protection of the range and watershed resources
through wise management. A search through the last annual land
report of all the range States fails to reveal any mention of the
condition of the lands. Without exception they are mere financial
statements made up largely of figures of acreages and dollars. The
measure of success seems to be based entirely on the ability of those
responsible for the lands to obtain the maximum revenue from lease
or sale regardless of the effect on the resource.
In every case responsibility for administering State lands rests
with those whose major function is revenue collection. In no in-
stance has the land been turned over to an agricultural agency.
Surprising as it may seem, even where a qualified State agricultural
department is provided it has been permitted to have no part in
State land management other than that which could be exerted
indirectly through influence. Clearly, in the interest of good land
management, the administration of State grazing land should be
closely tied in with the interrelated agricultural interests. Sound
land-use management requires this action.
To sum up: The distribution pattern of State lands is of such
character as to complicate any attempts at improved range manage-
ment. No provision at all to control numbers of stock or season of
use is exercised in leases. Supervision of the use of the land is
not provided. The responsible agency is primarily interested in
securing the greatest current revenue through sales or leases. The
services of existing qualified agencies such as the State agricultural
departments, the agricultural experiment stations, and the Exten-
sion Service are little used.
INDIAN LANDS
The land ownership problem within the western Indian reserva-
tions, especially those of the Northwest, is little if any less compli-
cated than with the land in other forms of ownership or control.
Until very recently the objective in Indian administration seems
to have been to lead or force the Indian to accept the same mode
of living and standards of civilization that have proved to be satis-
factory to the white man. This has included the principle of indi-
vidual, private ownership of land as the ultimate solution. As a
result, five distinct classes of land titles are intermingled on most
of the reservations. This situation is fully discussed in another sec-
tion (pp. 278-285) and therefore will not be repeated here. It should
be said, however, that the resultant land-ownership pattern has been
one of the major obstacles to the practice of proper range manage-
ment on Indian lands. Progress in recent years has been encourag-
ing and should be more rapid under the broad authority vested in
the Interior Department by the Wheeler-Howard Act of 1932.
28 This paragraph refers entirely to range lands and shopld not bo construed as n
criticism of the management of State forests and parks, which in some instances is very
creditable.
UNSUITABLE LAND POLICY
REMAINING PUBLIC DOMAIN
Beginning late in the nineteenth century, a few farsighted indi-
viduals began to realize that for certain lands private ownership
was neither feasible nor desirable. As a result, partly owing to
public pressure but more largely to the political astuteness of cer-
tain conservation leaders, a large area of the remaining public do-
main has been withdrawn from all forms of entry and reserved
for public management. Chief among these reservations were those
creating the national forests, national parks and monuments, and
power-site withdrawals. Also a great area has been reserved for
such special purposes as Indian reservations, reclamation sites, stock
driveways, and mineral reservations. Although there is a material
amount of overlapping as between various reserves, their general
extent, as recorded in the 1934 report of the Secretary of the In-
terior, is shown in the following partial tabulation : 29
Acres
National forests 138, 120, 193
National parks and monuments 8, 692, 196
Indian reservations (estimated net) 56,676,535
Military, naval, and similar reservations (approximately) 1,000,000
Bird and game refuges 1,512,371
Stock driveways 9, 771, 386
Reclamation withdrawals 20, 208, 621
Water power reserves 5,147,654
As a residue from the combined effects of the land-disposal policy
on the one hand and the reservation policy on the other, we still had,
on July 1, 1934, 165,695,479 acres of unappropriated and unreserved
public domain, of which 162,188,181 acres were in the range country.
For the purposes of this section grazing districts as shown in table
45 are considered to be public domain.
TABLE 45. Public domain areas in the range States, included and not included
in "grazing districts"
State
Included
in grazing
districts
Not in-
eluded in
grazing
districts
Total,
public
domain
Arizona _. .
1,000 acres
1,505
1,000 acres
11,568
1,000 acres
13, 073
California
1,872
13,804
15, 676
Colorado
6,459
576
7 035
Idaho
4,182
5,885
10, 067
Montana
3,892
2,018
5 910
Nevada . . .
7,985
43, 194
51, 179
New Mexico
8,776
2,873
11,649
Oregon
9 561
679
10 240
Utah
20,045
1,908
21, 953
Washington
710
710
Wyoming .. ._
1,246
12, 825
14, 071
Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas-
625
625
Total
65, 523
96,665
162, 188
On June 28, 1934, the Taylor Grazing Act, which provides for
some degree of public control of grazing on 80 million acres of the
public domain, became a law. Although the restriction in acreage
29 Fig. 62 shows the location and extent of some of the more important classes of
federally owned or controlled land.
236 THE WESTERN RANGE
still leaves more than 85 million acres of Federal public land with-
out provision for control, it seems inevitable that some sort of man-
agement will be provided very shortly. This can be provided
through amendment to the Grazing Act to include the entire area,
through a division of the area between this and other agencies in the
interest of consolidation and conservation, or through a combination
of these measures. Consideration of the good and bad features of
the Grazing Act will be found elsewhere. It is necessary here to
present the effects on the land pattern which this immense acreage
of predominating range land exerts and to describe in some detail
its condition and the reasons therefor.
The public domain of the West is made up of remnants left after
careful culling by many agencies. The homestead, desert home-
stead, and grazing homestead laws eliminated much of the best of
the natural range area. State, railroad, and other grants, with their
provision for lieu selection of indemnity land, still further reduced
the average quality. The national forests, Indian reservations, re-
clamation withdrawals, and so forth, each have absorbed grazing
land better than that which remained. Clear] y the residue of
165,695,479 acres consists of the least desirable of the original 1,442,-
220,320 acres. Certainly, it includes the poorest 10 percent of the
lands west of the Mississippi River.
Not only is the land poor in quality but its geographic distribu-
tion often makes administration difficult. Except those semidesert,
or extremely low-value areas where there was little demand for the
land, it is scattered in units too small to administer separately and
badly intermingled with other ownerships. As has already been
empnasized, absolute lack of proprietorship on the public domain
resulted in the worst kind of abuse through overgrazing and use
during improper seasons. Wherever there is any public domain
used as open range, it is in virtually every instance in a more ad-
vanced state of depletion than similar land under any other form of
ownership.
Along with forage depletion has gone, more often than not, the
top soil, and along with it the soil fertility. The forage and soil
resource is generally so badly deteriorated that the land has lost
not only its grazing values but also its ability to regulate run-off
and prevent erosion.
REASONS FOR DELAY IN ADOPTING A CONSTRUCTIVE RANGE-LAND POLICY
Failure to correct the evils of our Federal range-land policy is
hard to understand. As early as 1878, Lieutenant Powell, then
Chief of the Geological Survey, after a rather thorough field exam-
ination, prepared a report on the necessity for revising our land
laws to fit conditions in the semiarid West. His report (107} , with
remarkably clear foresight, pointed the way for future action. He
recognized the desirability of combining range and irrigable land,
of the protection of water holes for widest possible use, and of pre-
venting nonirrigable lands from going into crop agriculture. No
action was taken.
In 1898 the American National Livestock Association, well know-
ing that the range resource was being destroyed, passed resolutions
UNSUITABLE LAND POLICY 237
asking that the public domain be given protection from overgraz-
ing. No action was taken.
In 1903 President Theodore Koosevelt, fresh from his experiences
in Dakota and Montana, realizing keenly the impaired condition of
the range resource, appointed a Public Land Commission to investi-
gate and report. This Commission after much testimony and travel
reported not only what would happen but what had already hap-
pened. It recommended, as suggested by many progressive stock-
men, that the remaining public domain be withdrawn from entry
and placed under Federal administration with provision for home-
steading after careful land classification. No constructive action
was taken. In due time additional laws were passed designed to
facilitate rather than prevent further damage.
In 1930 President Hoover appointed the Committee on the Con-
servation and Administration of the Public Domain. Another
study was made and another recommendation for placing the public
domain under administration. In this instance primary emphasis
was placed on transfer of the land to the States where they so de-
sired and where proof of ability and intention to protect the re-
source could be given. Mineral rights were to be reserved to the
Federal Government. In those States not caring to assume the
heavy responsibility of rehabilitating these run-down lands, admin-
istration by the Federal Government was recommended. Also the
remaining forest lands, high-value watershed lands, and units de-
sired to block out administrative divisions, were to be added to tha
existing national forests. It is probably fortunate that several of
the recommendations of this report w r ere never translated into law.
Finally in 1935 after a half century of delay and failure to act
realistically on the public-domain range problem, and after untold
damage to the range and to the livestock industry had resulted, less
than half of the remaining public domain was placed in the way of
administration. The remainder, together with nearly 25 million
acres of unperfected homestead claims, remains a "no man's land."
Why the delays ? The reasons are obscure and may be conflicting.
First of all has been the ever-present fear of oppressive bureaucracy.
The idea of placing in the hands of some governmental agency the
final say as to the use of lands which heretofore have been used
without hindrance, was distasteful to many of the pioneer American
stockmen. Perhaps in no business has the spirit of rugged individ-
ualism been more strongly displayed. From the days of the Texas
trail herds on down to the present depression, the business has been
highly individualistic. The motto has been, "Let the best man
win." As a result, the stockmen were unable to unite on a solution
behind which they could mass their full strength.
The State rights argument has likewise been used to prevent
action. Even though the management of State lands more often
than not has been on a political basis with no apparent regard for
the permanence of the resource, there has been a strong following
for transfer of the public domain to the States. That, in their
present depleted condition, management and rehabilitation of these
lands would constitute a liability rather than an asset, seems not
to have been realized. The fact that some receipts were being
obtained from lands already in State ownership easily led to the
238 THE WESTERN RANGE
assumption that the ownership of the public-domain lands would
increase this revenue. Partisan politics, especially within some of
the States concerned, has made good use of the State rights principle
at the expense of the perpetuation of the range and watershed
resource.
Another feature in the delay has been a possible advantage which
the stockmen have seen in keeping the situation such as to afford
an opportunity to play one form of Federal control against another.
That this is true is evidenced by the situation today when the division
of Federal responsibility between two departments is being so used.
Always, of course, the question of the fee to be charged for use
of the range has played a part far beyond its true importance.
The cost to the stockman of equitable fees, as against insecurity in
the use of range, losses from overstocking of ranges, and damage
which results from erosion and unregulated stream flow from such
areas, should be quickly accepted as the only reasonable alternative.
Transcending all of these, however, has been the lack of inspired,
aggressive leadership. Reports have been made, laws have been
drafted and recommended ; action to correct abuses of existing laws
has awaited definite and inescapable mandate from Congress; but
the "punch" required to convert reports and recommendations into
established policy has not materialized. Always the solution has
been diluted by the tradition for land disposal and passage of title
to private ownership. Had there been inspired leadership, such as
Gifford Pinchot displayed in putting into effect a constructive con-
servation program for forest lands, the unreasonable delays could
not have continued. Partisan politics, adherence to outmoded prec-
edents, suspicions of bureaucracy, pure inertia, unwillingnesses to
face facts, and lack of appreciation of the worth of the forage re-
source none of these nor all together would have been able to
obstruct, as they have done, so obvious a course of action on behalf
of the public welfare, if such leadership had developed.
THE EFFECTS OF PAST LAND POLICY
EFFECT ON PRESENT RANGE-LAND OWNERSHIP
The ownership pattern of range lands within the region where
the raising of range livestock must be the major industry has grad-
ually become exceedingly complex and confusing. In general, our
land-disposal laws were so drawn as to keep ownership units to a
small size and, except in the case of the national forests, to make
no provision for continuing use of sufficient additional range to
support a home unit. That one purpose back of this type of legis-
lation was the prevention of monopoly in land ownership and con-
trol in no way alleviates the situation which we now face.
The only laws which were so framed as to facilitate the control
of range land in units of manageable size were those providing for
certain Federal reservations and those which authorized the ex-
change of private or State lands within these reservations for lands
in the unreserved public domain. The national forests, and more
recently the grazing districts, have for one purpose the consolida-
tion of ownership for better management. Yet, even in this type
UNSUITABLE LAND POLICY
239
of ownership, management is made more difficult by the titles which
passed from the Government before the creation of the reserves.
Railroad grant lands, State school sections, submarginal homesteads,
and other private land within the boundaries present a problem, the
solution of which will not be easy.
A considerable part of the public domain coming within the graz-
ing districts is in such small tracts and so badly scattered that real
constructive range management can be had only when and if the
adjoining areas can be included under the same administration. Fig-
ure 62 gives a generalized picture of the area included within the
various Federal reservations and on which grazing use can be con-
trolled in varying degrees. Actually, much of these areas is still in
the patchwork pattern shown in figures 63 and 64.
FIGURE 63. OWNERSHIP PATTERN IN
COLORADO.
Characteristic of many a western rang
county, the actual pattern is even more
varied than here indicated, since "Cor-
porate groups", "Nonresident", and so
on, may include several different owners
in any one block of land .so labeled.
FIGURE 64. RANGE OWNERSHIP IN
MONTANA.
Such "crazy quilt" patterns of ownership as
shown in this small area in Montana and
in fig. 63 encourage and accelerate range
depletion by offering a serious handicap
to good range management. It is obvious
that units of ownership or control and of
management practice must bear some
relation to each other.
Through the operation of lieu selections, States and railroads in
selecting indemnity lands have been enabled to effect a considerable
amount of consolidation. A large part of these selections, however,
has been in regions where timber values were high and where graz-
ing values were correspondingly low if not entirely absent.
240 THE WESTERN KANGE
Outside the boundaries of the Federal reservations we find a con-
fusing ownership picture. It has been well described by R. R. Renne,
of the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station in a recently written
unpublished manuscript. The description is typical of much of the
eastern two-thirds of that State.
Thousands of tracts owned by individuals residing all over the United
States ; thousands of small farm units interspersed among grazing areas and
other ownerships ; a large portion of the remaining public domain occurring in
isolated, disconnected tracts; state holdings scattered, usually including the
sixteenth and thirty-sixth sections of each township; thousands of acres of
county land, taken through continued tax delinquency, and occurring haphaz-
ardly in small units; railroad lands making a checkerboard effect in some
areas, being much more scattered in others ; insurance company lands scat-
tered thinly here and there ; investment and mortgage company holdings strung
out in a disorderly fashion, representing parcels out of larger blocks not yet
sold; lands foreclosed by land banks and commercial banks occurring at
random here and there * * * such is the pattern of ownership established
under a policy of "laissez faire", free individualism, and planless settlement.
With such a pattern economic instability, overgrazing, and general misuse of
the land occurs.
The above description by one who has spent several years in an
intensive study of the land-ownership problem in our western range
country is not overdrawn. Figures 63 and 64 present graphically
the ownership pattern of typical areas in Montana and Colorado.
Actually the ownership in these areas is immeasurably more compli-
cated than here shown, as is evident in the necessary grouping on
these maps of several ownerships in certain of the classes. For ex-
ample, Federal ownership may include land under the jurisdiction
of several departments or bureaus ; corporate ownership includes not
only railroad land but that of all banks, investment houses, insur-
ance companies, and all other incorporated entities; and private
ownership is widely distributed among both residents and nonresi-
dents. Need more be said concerning the seriousness of multiplicity
of ownership in its effect on range management in a predominantly
range country where it takes from 3 to 15 acres to support one cow
for a month?
Our land policy has had equally serious effects on the resultant
land use. Generally the land-disposal laws have not provided for
adequate land classification before settlement was permitted or title
was passed. It is true that certain laws, specifically the stock-rais-
ing homestead law, did so provide, but in practice the classification
was in no sense adequate and did not protect the settlers from an
uneconomic land selection. Land-hungry applicants, encouraged by
publicity departments of railroads, real-estate locators, and local
chambers of commerce with or without previous farm or ranch
experience were permitted to select at random their quota of land.
Title was allowed to pass with little regard to the suitability of the
land for the purpose intended.
To say that the application of the 160-acre homestead law to the
nonirrigable lands of the semiarid West was disastrous is no over-
statement. The dry-farm wheat belt of the short-grass plains was
settled under this law. The effect of the World War with its result-
ant peak prices for wheat and other farm commodities, coming dur-
ing the period of settlement, has been described in an earlier section.
UNSUITABLE LAND POLICY 241
At this time, too, the dry-farm region was favored with more than
normal precipitation for a period of several years. As one result
of this coincidence literally millions of acres of the best natural
range was turned under with the plow. Then the war ended.
Wheat surpluses built up. The dry years came on. A large part
of these wheatlands that once were range were abandoned.
While no reliable statistics as to the extent of abandonment are
available, it has been estimated that more than 20 million acres is
not too high a figure. In Montana, according to unpublished esti-
mates, nearly 5 million acres, and in Washington more than 1 mil-
lion acres of such land present a major problem. Homesteads pat-
ented under the various laws, State lands leased for agricultural
use, railroad lands, and homesteads not yet proved up on, all suffered
in varying degree.
The dry-farm wheat lands of many parts of the West today pre-
sent a discouraging picture. Immense areas which once supported
a fine stand of grama and buffalo grass now grow little except worth-
less weeds. Literally thousands of homes, cheaply constructed to
be sure, stand dilapidated and abandoned. Other hundreds of
homes still occupied plainly show a degree of poverty seldom
equaled in our city slums. Schoolhouses are abandoned, or if still
used, show the results of an attempt to continue public education
at a cost per pupil greatly exceeding that in the more prosperous
communities. Local governments are deeply involved in financial
difficulties, if not in fact actually bankrupt. It is thus that we pay
the price of a land settlement that ignores sound planning in the
use of land.
The extent of tax delinquency in the range area is not now known.
Comparable figures for the entire area have not been collected. Sam-
ple range counties in several States are, however, available to indi-
cate the extent to which ownership has reverted to the public. Ac-
cording to R. R. Renne, the county governments of Montana in
1934 owned 2,526,349 acres (excluding lands within the boundaries
of incorporated municipalities, highways, rights-of-way, etc.) Sev-
eral times as much was delinquent 3 or more years and subject to tax
deed, but because of recent tax moratorium legislation title had not
been perfected.
Table 46 indicates for Montana, for which tax data are available,
the building up of delinquency during recent years. Although it is
impossible to segregate natural range from cropland, it is well known
that delinquency is worst on dry-farm wheatland which has
been abandoned for cropping. The counties in which de-
linquency is most prevalent are those in which range livestock
and dry farming have predominated. In the final analysis, tax
delinquency of abandoned dry-farm land is a range problem. It is
only through rehabilitation for range use that these lands can again
be made to produce satisfactorily. It is significant that even dur-
ing the prosperous years delinquency was serious. In 1928, as shown
in table 47, more than 15 percent of the range and cropland was so
listed and by 1933 this had increased to more than 40 percent.
64946 3(
242 THE WESTERN RANGE
TABLE 46. Progress of tax delinquency on range and cropland in Montana
VAAr
I
)elinquent-'
Lands
Properties
Owners
1928...
Acres
53, 043, 690
Percent
15.11
Number
30, 253
Number
25 373
1929
63 452 362
17 11
34 179
28 176
1930
53 305 504
22 86
44 252
34 650
1931
52, 871, 826
35.44
62,224
46 878
1932 . ..
52 313 339
41 49
72 801
54 558
1933
52 341 924
40 24
69 682
52 388
TABLE 47. Tax delinquency, by years, in one Colorado county
Land
Year levied
Irrigated
Grazing
Dry farm
Meadow
Coal
Total de-
linquent
1932...
Acres
234,023
Acres
685, 371
Acres
499, 323
Acres
3,280
Acres
892
Acres
1, 422, 889
1931
206 075
635 404
449 903
3 142
805
1,295 329
1930
166 824
523 977
383 112
3 240
780
1 077 933
1929
159 657
539 907
367, 755
2,691
733
1, 070, 743
1928 1__
144,294
522, 342
350, 392
3,138
699
1,020,865
Total
910 873
2 907,001
2,050 485
15, 491
3,909
5, 887, 759
Average
182 175
581 400
410 097
3 098
782
1. 177. 552
Percent
15.5
49.4
34.8
0.2
0.1
100.
i Even prior to the depression, tax delinquency in this county was a serious problem, as it was in adjoining
States also.
That the above situation is not peculiar to any one range State
is shown in the Colorado yearbook for 1933-34 on page 277. In
1932 nearly 61 percent of the privately owned farm and ranch land
(approximately 21,760,000 acres) was delinquent for general prop-
erty taxes. In 1928 the percentage of delinquency was only 30.4
percent 'and the acreage involved was 10,679,034 acres. That delin-
guency in this instance was worst on grazing land and dry-farm lands
is shown by table 47, which is based on information for one typical
range county. It is significant that 49.4 percent of the delinquency
is on range land, and 34.8 percent is on dry-farm land which should
have remained in grass, while only 15.5 percent is on irrigated crop
land. Thus 84.2 percent of the tax delinquency in this county is on
land for which grazing would seem to be the highest use.
The tax delinquency situation is likewise serious in the range live-
stock counties of eastern Oregon. As of March 1, 1934, 12 eastern
Oregon counties in which the range industry is predominant or co-
dominant with lumbering, owned 674,450 acres of land. Abandon-
ment of land to the counties for unpaid taxes was far less in arable
agricultural counties than in the grazing counties. In three range
counties the acreage of land on which taxes were delinquent 3 or more
3'ears, but which had not gone to county ownership, increased from
187,393 acres in 1928 to 1,092,731 acres in 1933. Although an exact
division between range and submarginal farm land is not possible,
the delinquency situation is known to be very serious for both classes
of land. While additional data from sample plot studies in other
States are available, those given are sufficient to establish the fact
UNSUITABLE LAND POLICY 243
that on range land and especially on abandoned dry -land tax delin-
quency is a serious problem. Probably the latter class of land is in
greatest distress.
The period of rapid homesteading and expansion of wheat produc-
tion brought large increases in population. Towns were organized ;
school districts were created ; counties were divided ; road and high-
way districts came into being ; new local taxing bodies were initiated
on every hand. Thus there developed a local government pattern
designed to serve a relatively dense population. That it was expen-
sive mattered little during the boom days. Bond issues were easy
to float. Today, with the population reduced in number (Montana
suffered 'a 20-percent reduction in the number of farm units between
1920 and 1930) and with a full realization that, after all, the land
was intended for grass, the problem of developing a suitable local
government is acute.
The need for high-quality, efficient government is immeasurably
increased by the economic difficulties now facing the range counties.
The tax base upon which to finance good government is decreasing
and with each additional tax abandonment the loan on those still
paying becomes heavier. The inclination to "let the county have
the land" spreads to owners of better and better land. The solution
does not rest in providing "cheaper" government but in providing
better and more efficient government.
Part of the answer may lie in consolidations of small govern-
mental units and in careful long-time planning and rehabilitation.
Besides focusing the attention of the community on the problem of
good government, consolidation should, througli reduced overhead,
lower the costs, although it must not be forgotten that it will not
reduce the combined bonded indebtedness of the units consolidated.
Thus, through elimination of some of the local governments, there
is a definite possibility that the functions of government may be
better performed and at less cost.
Within this picture of tax delinquency one other important factor
requires especial consideration. In most of the States lands upon
which taxes are unpaid ultimately pass to the counties or remain in
the twilight zone of no ownership until sold. Hence we are building
up in the range country a "new public domain." Too often, under
pressure for increased county revenue, and in some instances in
accordance with State laws, these lands are sold to the highest bidder,
only to revert again for nonpayment of taxes when the new owner
realizes their true worth. Thus, these lands shift between county
and private ownership without regard for their income-producing
value and in a status to encourage improper use. It is obvious that
these lands are submarginal for private ownership in the use to
which they have been put. It is equally clear that under present
conditions the counties cannot afford to own them. Much range land
has been depleted to the point where it is now unable to carry its
share of the cost of government. The abandoned crop land, although
it was no doubt once first-quality range, has come back to public
ownership with the forage cover destroyed by plowing and now
supporting a sparse stand of vegetation of low value for grazing in
place of the original fine perennial grasses.
That revegetation by natural means will require an excessive period
of time is shown by a recent (unpublished) study by E. W. Nelson
244
THE WESTERN RANGE
of Montana University Forest School. Table 48, which is taken from
his report, shows that during the first 5 years after abandonment
85.7 percent of the cover consisted of worthless and unpalatable
species. Only 7 percent was grass. Even 16 or more years after
abandonment it was found that more than 29 percent of the cover
was made up of unpalatable species, with only 45.4 percent in the
grass group. It should be noticed, further, that only 3.4 percent of
this grass cover was blue grama, whereas on adjacent unbroken grass-
lands 36 percent of the vegetative cover is accounted for by this most
excellent species.
TABLE 48. Occurrence of native species on various types of land in Wheatland
County, Mont.
GRASSES AND GRASSLIKE PLANTS
Species
Scientific name
Native
grass-
land
Abandoned plowed land
1-5 years
6-10 years
11-15
years
16 years
and more
Blue gnvma
Bouteloua gracilis
Percent
36.0
7.8
12.5
4.0
(0
3.0
13.0
Percent
6.0
1.0
(')
Percent
2.0
12.0
13.5
1.0
<\0
1.0
Percent
3.0
12.0
20.0
2.0
( \o
2.0
Percent
3.4
18.0
16.0
*J
2.3
Bluestem
Agropyron smithiL
Needle and thread
Stipa comata
June grass
Koeleria cristata..
Native bluegrass
Poa spp
O ther grasses
Dryland sedges
Carexspp
PERENNIAL AND BIENNIAL WEEDS
Palatable
4.6
1.6
11.8
3.1
13.1
5.4
8.0
2.2
10.2
Unpalatable
ANNUAL WEEDS
Russian thistle
Salsola kali
2.0
3.2
70.0
2.3
26.0
4.2
16.0
2.4
12.0
1.0
Other annuals . .
BROWSE
Silver sage -.
Artemisia frigida
8.0
2.3
2.6
1.0
5.7
1.6
13.8
5.1
1.2
18.3
6.9
(0
17.2
6.0
3.7
1.0
Snake weed *
Gutierrezia sarothrae
Phlox muscoides
Phlox
Cactus
Opuntia polyacantha...
Total. ..
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
Less than 0.5 percent.
Considered half shrubs.
Nelson's conclusions as to rate of natural rehabilitation of plowed
and abandoned dry farms are substantiated by those reached by
Shantz (126) from a study in Colorado in 1911. In the Escalante
Valley in southwestern Utah, George Stewart found that the rate of
recovery of lands last plowed in 1913 was very much slower than
that determined by Nelson in Montana.
It is seriously questioned whether private owners can profitably
hold a class of land which shows so little improvement even after
many years of abandonment from cropping. Its rehabilitation
within a reasonable period seems generally to be dependent on arti-
ficial reseeding. Just how private owners and underfinanced coun-
UNSUITABLE LAND POLICY 245
ties can undertake a wholesale program of artificial reseeding in a
region where the climate makes the undertaking extremely hazard-
ous and until the costs of such treatment can be reduced to much
less than the value of the land so treated has yet to be answered.
The problem for the rehabilitation of badly depleted range land
and the restoration of abandoned dry farm land seems to be one
for a strong unit of the Government to undertake.
EFFECT ON THE RANGE RESOURCE
The complex ownership pattern of range land which has been
built up and the deterioration and destruction of the range resource
which has accompanied this process presents a major problem to
the livestock industry, dependent communities, the States, and the
Nation. As is shown in discussing integrated agriculture, crop
farming and range use are inseparable parts of the agriculture of
the Western States. The extent to which either use is successful
depends in large part on the degree to which the other can be made
to contribute toward it. Clearly close coordination is essential to
the permanent and continuous prosperity of the integrated
agriculture.
Coordination in use is equally essential to the conservation of the
high public values which much of this land carries. High-value
watersheds, critical erosion areas, tracts badly needed for recrea-
tional use, and key areas for game use have been passed to private
ownership or abusively used without regard for their need for these
special services.
One of the essential features of sustained-yield management is se-
curity in the right to use the forage resource which may properly be
harvested from the land. That such security is impossible under an
ownership pattern such as has been previously described seems clear.
One small area sufficient for even 150 head of cattle or a small band
of sheep may be divided in ownership between so many individuals,
corporations, and agencies that planning for future use is impos-
sible. The logical user of the range is never sure that some less de-
pendent competitor will not legally invade his range through pur-
chase or lease of part of the area. Also, the situation which now
exists lends encouragement to the "coyote sheep herder", who, by the
lease of small, widely separated areas, combined with his equal right
to use such public domain as may remain, feeds his flocks in trespass
on areas which have been held for special seasonal use, or which pur-
posely have been lightly grazed as a range rehabilitation measure.
Thus the usual result is to consider only the present and get the last
blade of grass every year. Under such treatment range depletion has
been serious and will continue.
The effect of dry farming on the range resource has already been
discussed. The native range forage has been destroyed and has been
replaced by plant species of little or no forage value. Natural re-
habilitation will be extremely slow. Unfortunately, these dry farm
lands are often intermingled with unbroken range lands, thus reduc-
ing the average carrying capacity of entire units to an extremely
low level. Ownership is widely distributed, and tax delinquency is
most serious. Thus, in regions where unsuccessful dry farming has
been practiced, the problem of range rehabilitation is particularly
246 THE WESTERN RANGE
difficult and is made more complicated by the land-ownership situa-
tion which exists.
One of the most unfortunate results of the land policy which has
been followed in the West is the extent to which it has encouraged
overinvestment in land, and in turn abuse of the range. As home-
stead entries were allowed and patents were issued the stockman
who had previously used the range borrowed from the banks to
buy put the so-called settlers and gave a mortgage on his enlarged
holdings as security. The increase in owned range did not increase
the area or productiveness of the range unit which he had previously
used free of charge as public lands. To meet taxes and interest
payments on the enlarged ownership, the stockman usually found
it necessary to increase the size of his flock or herd. The result, al-
most inevitably, has been overgrazing and range depletion.
Under the conditions which have been described it is to be expected
that ranges generally have been depleted. The extent to which
depletion has gone under the various forms of ownership and con-
trol should be one guide to future action. It is significant that in
every major forage type the national-forest ranges are now in better
condition than those under any other form of control. At the other
extreme, as might be expected, is the public domain, where no
administration has been given to range use.
THE PROBLEMS WHICH ARISE FROM LAND OWNERSHIP
The tangled and illogical ownership pattern which has arisen
from the lack of constructive land policy as previously shown, has
had and still has a serious influence on the perpetuation of the
range resource. Four problems stand out as the major features
which require solution.
SIMPLIFICATION OF OWNERSHIP PATTERN
Clearly, such intermingling of ownerships as is illustrated by
figures 63 and 64 is too great a handicap on the development of
good range management. The situation is made immeasurably more
acute by the fact that a very high percentage of the lands is held
by absentee owners who have no personal interest in the community
welfare other than that of obtaining a return on their investment.
Another large segment of potential range land widely diffused
in ownership has been effectively lifted out of production by an
unsuccessful attempt to grow dry-farm wheat. The economic re-
habilitation of such land for productive use depends in large part
on assurance for future good management of the property. Simpli-
fication of the pattern will be one incentive to better treatment.
State legislation to facilitate consolidation in some form of public
ownership, the formation of cooperative grazing districts for ad-
ministration of certain units, and active participation by the Re-
settlement Administration of the Federal Government should all be
considered as possible aids to the solution of this problem. A more
logical ownership pattern is fundamental to permanent range
rehabilitation and maintenance.
UNSUITABLE LAND POLICY 247
DIVISION INTO ECONOMIC UNITS
The distribution of the grazing resource in such a way as to avoid
monopolistic tendencies, without dividing it up in such small units
as to destroy its social value, is another major problem. Ideally and
ultimately the range resource will probably contribute most if made
to support the maximum number of satisfactory home units. This
does not necessarily mean individual ownership of sufficient ranch
and range property to support the number of stock required to meet
this objective. The system of distribution of grazing privileges in
effect on the national forests offers one solution. Under this system
dependency of the outfit on the use of range forage, the commensur-
ability of owned land on which supplemental feeds are raised or
which is used as winter range, and the number of stock owned each
are considered.
The livestock requirements for an economic unit will vary greatly.
In regions where range livestock is the sole means of support, the
ideal family unit may call for about 150 to 200 head of cattle or a
small band of sheep. Where diversified farming is practiced, pro-
vision to graze only a few head of stock may be essential to supple-
ment the other farm income. In certain regions where successful
management is contingent on running a large outfit it may be en-
tirely proper to recognize such ownership. Always the effect of
size of outfit on the cost of producing meat, wool, and hides must
be given fair consideration. The controlling principle in each de-
cision should be the support of the maximum number of people at
an acceptable standard of living. If this objective can be ap-
proached, the cost of rebuilding the depleted ranges can be justified.
TAXATION
One of the problems of range-land ownership is that of taxation.
The extent of tax delinquency in the range country establishes the
fact that, in their present run-down condition, much range land
cannot carry the load. It is significant that, generally, on those
properties where good range management has been practiced the
taxes have been paid. Certainly a part of the solution of the range-
land tax problem rests on rehabilitation for maximum production,
but the ranges are not yet rehabilitated and taxes are payable each
year.
Eange lands must, as a matter of course, pay their full share of
the cost of good government. Their failure to do so in recent years
is so greatly influenced by the effects of the lack of good manage-
ment and by the delinquency of intermingled lands improperly used
for crop agriculture that thoroughly reliable conclusions are impos-
sible. It seems probable that the taxes on these lands are dispropor-
tionally high in terms of real income value. This much is clear. A
comprehensive analysis of the tax problem on the range area should
be undertaken, and in the meantime serious consideration should be
given to the possibilities of revamping the local government organi-
zation to fit the population pattern which exists. Certainly some
means must be found to prevent range lands from being given the
abusive treatment commonly accorded to tax delinquent or reverted
property.
248 THE WESTERN RANGE
RESPONSIBILITY FOR RESTORATION
Finally, regardless of who owns the land, full recognition must
be given to the fact that range forage is an agricultural crop. That
this fact has not been appreciated is evident. A large part of fed-
erally owned range lands are administered outside the Department
of Agriculture. State and county lands have been administered by
agencies whose primary responsibility is revenue collection, and the
State agricultural services have used little if any. Private lands, in
most instances, have been "mined" rather than cropped for forage.
Until such time as the natural laws of crop production and plant
growth are followed in range management, restoration is not to be
expected.
Correction of the bad range-management practices will be aided
by placing responsibility for range restoration with those agencies
engaged in the solution of agricultural problems. Not only is this
true for Federal and State lands but for large tracts in corporate
ownership as well.
RANGE CONSERVATION THE EXCEPTION
By C. L. FORSLING, Director, Appalachian Forest Experiment Station; FBED P.
CRONEMILLER, Assistant Regional Forester, California Region; PERCY E.
MEIJS, Forester, Northern Region; AENOLD R. STANDING, Range Examiner,
Intermountain Region ; AJLVA A. SIMPSON, Associate Director, Plains Shelter-
belt; and REX KING, Assistant Regional Forester, Southwestern Region
The western range picture is not entirely unfavorable. There are
areas on which action has been taken or is in course of being taken,
to stop depletion, improve existing conditions, and stabilize the use
of the range. In the national forests is found the greatest single
attempt to turn back the tide of depletion and to undertake planned
use of the resources. Progress is being made on the Indian reserva-
tions. Action has been started in the grazing districts on 66 million
acres of what until recently was open public domain. Here and
there in the West are found privately owned range lands which have
been carefully utilized and the forage resources wisely conserved.
These instances of deliberate management are guideposts pointing
the way toward a sounder range livestock agriculture.
THE NATIONAL FORESTS
Of the present area of approximately 133,875,000 acres of feder-
ally owned land in the national forests of the western range States,
about 82,538,000 acres, or 62 percent, of the total is used for grazing
of domestic livestock. Upon these lands approximately 1,400,000
cattle, 30,000 horses, and 6,152,000 sheep and 9,000 goats are grazed
regularly during several months of each year. 30 These permitted
livestock, which represent 12 percent of all the cattle and 23 percent
of all the sheep in the 11 western States, are owned by more than
25,000 farmers, settlers, and ranchers, most of whom reside in or
near the forests.
The national forests represent the initial effort of the Federal
Government to undertake on a major scale the management of land
resources which it was in the general interest to retain in public
ownership. Extensive areas of the range which was included had
already been seriously depleted by the free-for-all use which had
gone on for several decades prior to the establishment of an admin-
istrative agency. The situation in many respects was not unlike
that on the open public domain today. The mad scramble for range
and the competition between the large livestock operator who had
preempted the open range and the home builder who was endeavor-
ing to get a start was at the expense of the grazing resources and
the orderly development of struggling new communities.
Although the guiding motive in the establishment of the national
forests was the conservation of timber and the protection of water-
30 Exclusive of calves under 6 months and of lambs. The average grazing season for
cattle is 5.7 months, for horses 5.5 months, for sheep 3.3 months, and for goats 5.7
months.
249
250
THE WESTERN RANGE
sheds, 31 conservation of the other resources was implied, and the
forage crops produced on them have received equal consideration in
protection, development, and use along with all other resources.
The basic aim in the management of these lands has been to de-
velop sustained yield and to make all of the resources contribute
in the fullest degree, consistent with the broader public needs, to
the sound social and economic development of the dependent popu-
lation. On the whole, it was an attempt toward planned use of
land and a challenge to the laissez-faire doctrine in land occupa-
tion and use in the United States.
Today, after 30 years of administration under the Department
of Agriculture, not all of the national-forest ranges have been re-
stored to their virgin capacity, but real progress has been made.
Wholesale depletion has been checked and marked recovery is the
rule. The national-forest ranges, on the whole, as shown in table
49, are in approximately 70 percent of virgin condition. This fig-
ure compares favorably with figures elsewhere presented of 33
percent of virgin condition on the grazing districts and public
domain and 49 percent on private range lands.
TABLE 49. Degree of depletion of virgin range in plant types on the national
forests
Moder-
Mate-
Severe
Extreme
Plant type
Total
area 1
ate de-
pletion
(0-25
rial de-
pletion
(26-50
deple-
tion
(51-75
deple-
tion
(76-100
Average
deple-
tion
per-
per-
per-
per-
cent)
cent)
cent)
cent)
1,000
acres
Percent
Percent
Percent
Percent
Percent
Tall grass .
202
100
12
Short grass
993
40
48
12
30
Pacific bunchgrass
1,714
29
46
25
37
Semidesert grass
1,636
3
49
29
19
53
Sagebrush-grass
3,637
11
68
20
1
40
Southern desert shrub
98
51
8
41
60
Salt-desert shrub.
366
49
49
2
26
Pifion-juniper
13,811
25
41
30
4
41
Woodland-chaparral
712
2
70
28
44
Open forests
64,785
55
37
7
1
26
Total and average
87, 954
46.5
40.0
12.
1.5
30
i Includes acres of usable range closed to grazing for various purposes.
Earlier presentation of trends of depletion has shown that dur-
ing the past 30 years the average trend has been one of improvement
on 77 percent of the national forest range area and on only 5 per-
cent has there been an appreciable decline. During the last 5 years,
however, owing to drought and depression, the improvement trend
has been offset by a slightly downward trend on 19 percent of the
area. The net improvement may be summarized in one figure for
the period from 1910 to 1934 forage production on the present
usable range on the national forests has increased 19 percent. 32
81 For a discussion of the timber resources and watershed values in the national forests,
see A National Plan for American Forestry (154) , PP. 173, 298.
82 The number of livestock grazed on the national forests in terms of animal months
of use was actually reduced about 7 percent between 1910 and 1934. However, during
that same period a net area of approximately 10,000,000 acres, mostly grazing land, has
been excluded from within the national forests. Approximately 2,250,000 acres, most of
it the very best grazing land, has been alienated under the Forest Homestead Act of
June 11, 1906. Grazing capacity amounting to an equivalent of approximately 2,000,000
CONSERVATION THE EXCEPTION 251
The net social and economic benefits which have been derived
from the policy of administration of the national forests, are more
difficult to appraise in specific terms. Nevertheless the benefits have
been positive and real. Almost as many livestock are grazed and
as many dependent stock growers use the range now as a quarter of
a century ago. Forage on national-forest range is more dependable
than on any other class of land. Uses for other purposes than for
grazing have greatly increased. National-forest ranges to a large
degree have been correlated with other classes of agricultural land.
It is proposed to review briefly the circumstances and vital forces
which led to the establishment of the national forests and the initial
aims and objectives of administration; describe briefly the action
taken to implement these aims and objectives and to appraise the net
results and existing problems. Such an analysis of accomplishments
in the initial experiment with Federal land management may be
of significance in further developing a program for future action
on all publicly owned range lands.
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NATIONAL FORESTS
The initial approach to conservation of the range resources was
an outgrowth of the concern over the depletion of forests and injury
to watersheds. Alarm over forest destruction as a national problem
was expressed as early as 1819 (77). There was, however, a long
delay before any positive action was taken. In the meantime, legis-
lation was directed principally toward disposal of land. The Sec-
retary of the Interior vainly requested appropriations with which
to enforce laws against illegal cutting of timber on the public do-
main. From 1878 to 1891 there was much debate in Congress over
Government timberlands, but no action was taken until the passage
of the act of March 3, 1891, which authorized setting apart forest
reserves by Executive order out of parts of the public domain
whether wholly or partly covered with timber. However, progress
was slow for several years after the enactment of this statute and
up to 1897, only 19 reservations had been set aside aggregating
18.933,280 acres in area.
Efforts were then somewhat stimulated following the report of
an investigation the Secretary of the Interior had requested the
National Academy of Sciences to make of publicly owned forest
lands. Among other things he asked that investigations be made
concerning the influence of forest upon climate, soil, and water con-
ditions. The report of representatives of the Academy dated May 1,
acres of range is reserved for use by game on the total of over 100 State and Federal
game preserves. The extension of tree growth on the 42,000,000 acres of grazed timber
land has reduced grazing capacity in an amount equivalent to the withdrawal from
grazing use of 4,000,000 acres of good grazing land. Approximately 4,000,000 acres of
usable range land have been actually closed to grazing between 1910 and 1934, in
the interest of watershed protection, game, recreational use, timber growth, and for other
purposes. Thus the total range area available to livestock has been reduced the equi-
valent of 22 percent during the 25-year period. Since the land eliminated or taken out
of use was slightly better than average in grazing capacity the area now being used, in
order to take care of the present number of stock, has increased 19 percent in grazing
capacity. This does not take into account the additional facts that there has been a
very large increase in number of game animals outside the game preserves; that in
there were only 75 lambs per hundred grown sheep grazed and now there are 95
lambs for each hundred grown sheep, that the number of calves under 6 months have
increased proportionally ; and that, due to improvement in breed and quality, the animals
are larger and heavier and therefore each animal now consumes more feed than
formerly.
252 THE WESTERN RANGE
1897, among other things recorded widespread and serious damage
to ranges and watersheds by unrestricted grazing (91 ) . By June 30,
1898, 30 reserves had been established including 40,719,474 acres.
Progress continued to be slow, however, for some years, and mean-
while much timber, range, and watershed land which should have
been retained in public ownership passed into private hands.
The fight for conservation took on real life in 1901 under the
leadership of President Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot.
The issue was broadened into a fight for the protection of the in-
terests of the people against monopoly as well as for the conservation
of the resources. Big interests had shown their power to grab
natural resources, to monopolize business, and to control politics.
The situation with respect to grazing livestock on the range helped
to, stimulate action. At the opening of the twentieth century live-
stock production in the West was typically a public-lands industry.
It had grown great on free range. Severe competition for use of
the range had developed between cattlemen and sheepmen and be-
tween them and the homesteader. Nomadic flocks and herds from
distant wintering and breeding grounds increasingly swept the high
ranges. The "tramp stockman" moved from one region to another,
pressing in ahead of the local residents in a scramble to get the feed.
The homemaker was ground between the upper and the nether
millstones. The whole situation was precarious, chaotic, and in many
ways economically unsound. Many of the more powerful stockmen
sought ways to establish and perpetuate their monopoly of the
range. It all tended to retard settlement and community develop-
ment. To Roosevelt it was a question of a square deal and economic
freedom for the people of the West.
The Roosevelt principles gored the monopolistic ox, and the
opposition w^as expressed in pressure for eliminations of land from
the forest reserves and finally in the withdrawal of authority for
creating national forests by Executive order in most of the States.
For obvious reasons the powerful interests wished to retain freedom
from interference. Nevertheless, the fight against monopoly and
exploitation and for the protection of public interest for the "greatest
good to the greatest number in the long run" was partially successful.
During the time Theodore Roosevelt was in the White House, 148
million acres were withdrawn for national forests, bringing the total
area reserved up to 194.5 million acres. This placed most of the
remaining public timberland and most of the more important water-
sheds of the West under Government control, and a positive system
of administration was initiated. However, the plan for national
ranges which Roosevelt had proposed in 1905 (111} failed to
materialize.
Regulated use of the forest reserves was not authorized until the
passage of the act of June 4, 1897. Under this law the first rules
and regulations were written which provided that
The pasturing of livestock on the public lands in forest reservations will not
be interfered with, so long as it appears that injury is not being done to the
forest growth, and the rights of others are not thereby jeopardized.
The grazing of sheep, however, was prohibited in all forest reser-
vations, except in Oregon and Washington, where the "abundant
rainfall of the Cascade and Pacific coast ranges make rapid renewal
of herbage and undergrowth possible."
CONSERVATION THE EXCEPTION 253
There was almost no development of conservation policies. The
major function of the General Land Office of the Department of the
Interior, which had most of the responsibility for the forest reserves,
was the administration of the homestead and other land-disposal
laws, a function hardly compatible with the development of a con-
servation policy or organization. The tenor of the manual of regu-
lations of April 12, 1902, for example, was that of legality and mini-
mum carrying out of the law. Officials of the Land Office in Wash-
ington had no first-hand knowledge of the reserves. Business was
largely handled from Washington and great delays were encountered.
The instructions to the public were that
when the applicant fails to hear of his application in a reasonable time, say
30 days, he should address letters both to the Supervisor and to the Commis-
sioner of the General Land Office, Washington, D. C.
Due to limited authority and divided responsibility, the mechanics
of administration were seriously hampered by the resulting "red
tape" which greatly annoyed the people of the West who needed to
use the resources of the forest reserves.
Appointments to administrative positions on the forest reserves
under the Department of the Interior were principally political.
Not until December IT, 1904, through the efforts of the Society of
American Foresters and other organizations, was the personnel
placed under Civil Service. As would be expected under a system
of political appointments with no sense of security in office, low
salaries and little chance for promotion, well-qualified men were
discouraged from seeking employment (77).
There was no technical forest or range-management organization
except for a 3-year period beginning in 1901 when the Forestry
Division of the Department of the Interior was created. Its purpose
was to cooperate with the General Land Office in the administration
of the forest reserves. Since such a plan of organization was not
basically sound, hostility developed (28) and the entire technical
force resigned in 1903. With the exception of this group the con-
servation thought was entirely within the Bureau of Forestry in the
Department of Agriculture. There existed the anomalous situation
of forest administration in a division of one department and of all
the foresters in a bureau of another. President Roosevelt and the
Secretary of the Interior urged Congress to transfer the adminis-
tration of the forest reserves to the Bureau of Forestry in the
Department of Agriculture and this was accomplished by the act
of February 1, 1905. In 1907 the forest reserves were renamed the
"national forests."
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES IN ADMINISTRATION
The broad aims and objectives in the administration of the na-
tional forests were laid down by Secretary of Agriculture James
Wilson in a letter of February 1, 1905, to the Chief of the Forest
Service in which he said :
You will see to it that the water, wood, and forage of the reserves are con-
served and wisely used for the benefit of the home builder, first of all, upon
whom depends the best permanent use of lands and resources alike. * * *
All land is to be devoted to its most productive use for the permanent good of
the whole people and not for the temporary benefit of individuals or companies.
254 THE WESTEKN KANGE
All of the resources * * * are for use, and this use must be brought about
in a thoroughly prompt and businesslike manner, under such restrictions only
as will insure the permanence of these resources. The permanence of the re-
sources * * * is therefore indispensable to continued prosperity. *
The continued prosperity of the agricultural, lumbering, mining, and livestock
interests is directly dependent upon a permanent and accessible supply of water,
wood, and forage * * * (made available) under businesslike regulations
enforced with promptness, effectiveness, and common sense.
Local questions will be decided upon local grounds; the dominant industry
will be considered first, but with as little restriction to minor industries as
may be possible.
Regarding this letter it has been said (28) :
A careful perusal of the above is commended, not so much because of its
terse common sense as because of its continuous existence to the present
moment as the standing general orders under which the forest work of the
country has gone and still goes forward.
The administration of the national forests provides for the fol-
lowing :
1. Conservation and use. Perpetuation of all of the resources
through wise use, protection, and development.
2. Multiple use. Correlation in management and use of the differ-
ent resources in order to obtain the highest net benefits from the
combined resources of the land.
3. Equal opportunity. Protection of the settler and home builder
against monopoly and unfair competition in the use of resources.
4. Integration with agriculture. Relating the use of range and
other resources on the national forests to farm-grown forage crops,
range, and other agricultural resources in a manner to obtain the
highest benefits from the several classes of land.
5. Stability of use. Safeguarding livestock agriculture by afford-
ing maximum stability in the use of the range resources, consistent
with the objects of the national forests.
6. Cooperation with users. Provision for livestock growers, other
users, and local governments to have advisory voice in the administra-
tion of the national forests which they use.
7. Local administration. A businesslike, decentralized, and techni-
cal administration designed and organized to settle local problems
according to local conditions without delay.
The first regulations incorporating these basic policies were put into
effect on July 1, 1905, except for an advisory voice, which came later.
The regulations have been modified from time to time to meet new
conditions, for clarification of purpose, and for better definition of
their application.
MULTIPLE USE OF RESOURCES
The national forests contain a variety of resources or values, includ-
ing timber, water, range forage, game, fishing, and recreation. Rarely
is there an instance where two or more of these values are not asso-
ciated on any given tract of land. Some one may be dominant but
others are nearly always present in an amount sufficient to require
consideration in land management. This association of resources in-
jects the necessity for "multiple use" management or management
which will yield the highest social and economic benefit from all of the
resources combined. Accomplishment of multiple use is one of the
important objectives of national -forest land management. Obviously
CONSERVATION THE EXCEPTION 255
its attainment involves due consideration for local and present-day
needs, as well as long-range planning to meet the future requirements.
For example, 43 million acres, or approximately half of the na-
tional-forest range, is forest land, where commercial timber produc-
tion will have to be the dominant use. The number of recreational
visitors to the western national forests have increased steadily from
more than 3 million in 1917 to over 38 million in 1934. The number of
deer, elk, moose, mountain sheep, antelope, bear, and other big game
animals on range lands in the national forests increased from 613,000
in 1914 to 1,084,000 in 1934 ; upland game birds and fur bearers also
have increased during this period.
Ordinarily multiple use has been accompanied with only minor
sacrifices in the use of any one resource. Exclusion of other uses is
unnecessary and undesirable except where the highest public good can
be attained in no other manner. Of the total usable area of 87,954,307
acres of range land in the national forests, only 1,410,928 acres, or 1.6
percent of the total usable acreage, has been closed to grazing for
highly intensive recreational use ; 2,829,441 acres, or 3.2 percent, has
been closed for game ranges; 821,156 acres, or 0.9 percent, for water-
shed protection ; 210,344 acres, or 0.2 percent, for protection of timber ;
and 144,329 acres, or 0.2 percent, for other purposes. The total ex-
cluded range amounts to only 6.1 percent of the total usable range
area. On the remaining 93.9 percent of land the various uses, includ-
ing grazing, are coordinated with each other.
One of the chief requirements in multiple-use management has
been to foresee the needs and gradually adjust the various uses to
meet them. Livestock seldom can be removed on short notice with-
out sacrifice by the dependent user. However, sudden adjustments
have rarely been necessary.
ADMINISTRATION OF RANGE USE
CONTACTS WITH THE USER
For prompt and efficient handling of business to promote the solu-
tion of local problems upon local grounds, the Forest Service is
organized on a basis of decentralized authority. Forest officers are
located among the people they serve in order to be constantly in
touch with local conditions. The actual job of administration of the
range and other resources rests in the forest supervisor and his
rangers assigned to each of the 105 national forests in the Western
States. The people in the local communities transact their business
with either the forest ranger or the forest supervisor. Only remote
users must deal by letter or by occasional contact. /'Our ranger" is
a term applied by many people in western communities in referring
to the Forest Service official with whom they deal.
The character of administration and technical nature of the work
emphasizes the need for a properly qualified personnel chosen and
trained for the duties they have to perform. Tractically all forest
officers are "career men" who have chosen some line of forestry work
as a life profession. Kecruited through the civil service, candi-
dates for examinations must show adequate training and experi-
ence in forest or range work. The education of the newly pledged
forest officer is further advanced by training schools, study courses,
256 THE WESTERN KANGE
assignments under senior officers qualified to develop younger men,
transfers from one type of job to another, and by experience on the
job. Assignment to range management is dependent upon aptitude
and special qualifications for the work.
Under national-forest policy, users are entitled to exercise freedom
in the use of the national forests in accordance with the established
rules and regulations, and to be heard on all matters affecting their
own or the public welfare. Through the free exchange of ideas most
problems are harmoniously settled on the ground.
In order further to facilitate dealing with various local problems,
the organization of national-forest users into associations is officially
recognized and encouraged. Advisory boards are elected by the as-
sociation membership and these receive notice of proposed action and
have an opportunity to be heard. Over TOO livestock associations
have been organized by users of national-forest ranges and many of
these local associations are affiliated with the State associations and
these, in turn, with national associations which deal with the Forest
Service on matters of State- and Nation-wide importance. Grazing
boards, created upon the request of the majority of a group of
national-forest users, receive suggestions and complaints regarding
the administration of grazing, investigate all facts relating thereto,
and assist, advise, and consult with forest officers on matters of
general interest to the permittees.
Range users, however, are usually outnumbered by others inter-
ested in watershed protection, recreation, wildlife, timber, mineral
development, and a variety of minor uses, upon which a substantial
part of the support of many communities is dependent. The people
so involved are as fully entitled to a voice in national-forest adminis-
tration as are the stockgrowers. Recognition of these interests is
also provided for in the national-forest regulations. Counsel and
assistance are also invited from city, county, and State governments
concerned either directly or indirectly with national-forest adminis-
tration.
With so many interests involved it becomes the task of the Forest
Service, as the public agency concerned, to harmonize conflicts and
arbitrate differences between groups or individuals. The Forest
Service also has the duty and the responsibility to protect the public
interest whenever there is difference of opinion regarding established
national-forest policy. Many of the latter cases arise out of the
inclination of some users to disregard the requirements for range
conservation in order to satisfy their immediate needs. In such
instances the Forest Service proceeds on the basis of the best infor-
mation available and, with due consideration of all the circumstances,
adopts the procedure which will lead in the direction of the "greatest
good to the greatest number in the long run."
It is the aim of the Forest Service always to settle locally all
matters submitted for consideration. However, appeal may be taken
successively from the decision of the forest ranger, forest supervisor,
regional forester, and Chief of the Forest Service to the Secretary
of Agriculture, with whom final regulatory authority rests.
CONSERVATION THE EXCEPTION 257
CHARGES FOR GRAZING USE
The collection of a reasonable fee for the use of national-forest
range is nothing more or less than the recognition of the common
business principle of paying for values received. The intrinsic
worth of the forage and the stability afforded the livestock agricul-
turist in the use of the range have definite values. Not to collect
fees from the range users would result in a subsidy to this group
as compared to the producer who operates on privately owned or
leased range or farm land. The collection of fees is also justified
as a means of offsetting the cost of administration and the construc-
tion of improvements on the range by the Government, both of which
directly benefit the range user. Nevertheless, almost continuous
pressure has been brought by the livestock interests using the range
to keep the fees as low as possible.
Collection of fees was first provided for by the grazing regulations
of July 1, 1906. The principle of competitive bidding was not
adopted because it was early recognized that to do so would be dis-
advantageous to the small operator and lead to instability in agricul-
ture. The minimum charge for summer grazing was first fixed at
5 to 8 cents per head for sheep and 20 to 35 cents for cattle and
horses. The regulation prescribing these fees provided that as the
conditions of the range improved and the demand for permits war-
ranted it, the charge for grazing would be increased gradually in
accordance with the advantages enjoyed by the permittees in the
different localities. The last increase followed a detailed appraisal
of national-forest ranges begun in 1921 to establish the fees on a
parity with commercial rates.
In this appraisal the rates paid on similar leased lands and the
cost of owning grazing land, all of which are determined more or
less by natural economic forces, were used as a base. Adjustments
in the base rates were made for factors affecting grazing value, such
as type of forage, topography, weights and losses of livestock, and
distance to market. The resultant charges proposed, therefore,
varied with the factors inherent in the range. After strong opposi-
tion to the general increase by stockmen, the Secretary of Agricul-
ture designated a stockman to review the appraisal who recom-
mended the increase to commercial basis less 25 percent. The Sec-
retary approved the recommendation and ruled that the increase in
fees be applied 25 percent a year beginning in 1928 and become
fully effective in 1931.
The extreme low prices of livestock in 1931, however, presented a
new problem and fees were readjusted to vary from year to year in
accordance with the market prices of livestock during the previous
year. If the basis is correct the average fee paid over a long period
should approximately equal the adjusted commercial rate. Under
this readjustment the fees paid into the United States Treasury for
grazing on the national forests amounted to an average of $1,359,730
per annum during the 5-year period ending June 30, 1935. Twenty-
five percent of the fees are paid to the States in which they are
collected, for road and school purposes, and an additional 10 per-
cent was spent for the construction of roads and trails in the
national forests.
6494636 18
258 THE WESTERN RANGE
DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF RANGE MANAGEMENT
In order to maintain the basic resource and accomplish the high-
est degree of sustained use of range forage, the Forest Service ap-
plies the best known principles and practices of range management.
To do so is in the interest of the stockman because it maintains the
basic resource upon which livestock production is dependent. It
substitutes the policy of stability in the long run for the former
practice of exploitation of the resources for immediate gains.
Originally, the individual owner and the Forest Service started
even in their attempts at range management both had to depend
on "rule-of-thumb." Meager consideration had previously been
given to range management in the United States or elsewhere. Little
was known except in the most general way, for example, about the
relative value for grazing of the various native range-plant species,
their ability to withstand grazing, their requirements for growth
and reproduction, the circumstances under which best to use them,
the ability of the soil to produce them, and all the other factors
which together determine grazing capacity, proper season of use,
adaptability of the range to different classes of stock, requirements
for sustaining the production of forage, how to maintain the stabil-
ity and fertility of the soil, and how to maintain desirable conditions
of stream flow. Basic knowledge of this character was essential to
determine how best to use and maintain the range. It was apparent
also that a higher sustained grazing capacity of the range could be
attained if there could be developed and applied in a practicable and
skillful way a better adjustment of grazing to the natural biological
laws governing plant growth, securing a more even distribution of
livestock, and a better utilization of the forage.
Various steps were taken to meet this need for a more scientific
range management. The assistance and advice of experts in the
other Bureaus of the Department of Agriculture were enlisted. Ad-
ministrative officers of the Forest Service began to make investiga-
tions and to build on their experience. Stockmen were called upon
freely for advice on practical phases. In 1911 range research was
started in the Forest Service. Some of the agricultural colleges and
universities, with encouragement from the Forest Service, modified
or broadened curricula to provide training in related subjects and
to offer courses and conduct research in range management. Thus
over the years with aid of research by Federal and State agencies,
educational institutions, and tried experience and systemization of
methods in the Forest Service, a reasonably comprehensive science
and practice of range management is in process of development
for improving, maintaining, and utilizing the range resources. Most
of the research work is now conducted by the 6 western regional
forest and range experiment stations at 12 branch field stations sit-
uated in the more important range types both on and off the
national forests, and includes studies both in range management
and the influence of grazing on soil, timber growth, erosion, run-off,
and stream flow. The results of this research have been widely
applied on the national forests, and to some extent on other ranges,
along the lines indicated in the following paragraphs.
CONSERVATION THE EXCEPTION 259
RANGE CONDITIONS NOT LEFT TO GUESSWORK
So gradually may improvement or decline of the range take place
that even persons in constant contact with the range are not able
by ordinary observation to detect profound alterations. Obviously
the sum total of changes over a period of years may be noted, but
it may then be too late to repair damage without drastic action.
Sample plots on the range actually mapped and recorded at regular
intervals according to approved methods, serve as reliable checks
less subject to error than human judgment and memory. More than
6,400 of these have been established and are being recorded reg-
ularly to detect range trends in western national-forest ranges. Ap-
proximately one-third of these are check plots fenced against graz-
ing for use in estimating trends on grazed range. The actual records
from these plots serve many useful purposes in settling problems
to the satisfaction of both forest officers and livestock owners.
GRAZING CAPACITY
Keeping numbers of stock within the sustained grazing capacity
of the range has been one of the most important as well as one of
the most difficult undertakings in range management on the national
forests. Grazing capacity differs on different ranges and on different
parts of the same range, depending upon the character, quantity, and
forage value of the vegetation, the character of the soil, the length
and character of the growing season, the period of grazing, the
extent and degree of depletion, also the ease with which livestock can
get over the range, especially as influenced by topography, dense
brush and timber, and the distribution of water. Much depends
also upon the kind of range management, since the number of stock
that can be grazed on a well-managed range will exceed the number
on the same range when poorly managed. Grazing capacity on a
given range also varies from year to year and over one period of
years with another, depending upon vicissitudes of climatic condi-
tions, gradual changes in vegetation, and other factors.
It has been necessary in national-forest range management to keep
accurate check on the number of stock actually grazed, the period
of use, how closely different parts of the range are utilized each
year, the extent to which the range is properly grazed, and whether
or not the range is declining, improving, or remaining unchanged.
With this knowledge it has been possible to make necessary adjust-
ments from time to time on individual ranges, in order to conform
the number of stock to the grazing capacity, and hence to maintain
the forage crop which is basic to sustained livestock production.
SEASONAL USE
Correcting improper seasonal use, whereby stock was turned onto
the range as soon as the vegetation began to grow, has been a major
step in decreasing range depletion. Investigations showed that early
spring is a critical period in plant growth, that higher yields are
obtained for the season as a whole and there is less damage to the
vegetation if grazing is delayed until plant growth is well started
in the spring (116). Of significance in mountainous range also is
260 THE WESTERN RANGE
the fact that plant growth is delayed from 10 to 14 days with
approximately each 1,000 feet of rise in elevation. In the various
range units and elevational zones seasonal use has been adjusted
according to the average dates on which the forage plants are ready
for grazing as determined by records of plant growth built up over
a period of years for many ranges.
Degree of utilization at the close of the grazing season also has
been found to be an important criterion in range management on
most national-forest ranges. The precipitation is poorly distributed
through the grazing season, many of the better grasses and weeds
are of the "bunch" growth habit and do not spread vegetatively ;
the soil usually is not resistant to heavy trampling and consequently
forage growth does not withstand close grazing. Further research
is needed to ascertain the degree of utilization which may be applied
with impunity to important individual range species. Pending fur-
ther findings the safety rule is used of aiming to leave unutilized
at the end of the grazing season in average or normal years, from
20 to 30 percent of the forage volume of the more important forage
species well distributed over the range.
Of the 4,281 cattle and horse allotments and 4,872 sheep allotments
on the national forests, 88 percent are now considered to have satis-
factory seasonal use. On many of the remaining ranges needed
seasonal-use adjustments have not been made because of the lack of
sufficient spring or fall range either inside or outside the national
forests. In these cases it has been necessary to practice lighter
stocking, or completely rest the range after the spring grazing
season.
RANGE AND CLASS OF LIVESTOCK
In order to avoid waste of feed or damage, cattle and sheep when-
ever practicable have been changed about so that individual ranges
are utilized by the class of livestock to which the range is best
adapted. Character of topography, plant species, the presence of
poisonous plants obnoxious to one kind of stock but not to another,
and distribution of watering places are guides that have been studied
on national forests to determine the proper class of stock to graze.
However, the character of the supplemental winter range or forage
supply, the nature of individual livestock enterprises, or other impor-
tant factors sometimes outweigh the desirabliity of suiting the class
of stock to the range. Range protection in these cases has involved
lighter stocking or shorter grazing seasons.
GRAZING SYSTEMS
Systems of grazing have been developed to insure natural reseed-
ing to maintain and improve the forage stand. Range plants which
reproduce chiefly from seed require opportunity, at least in occasional
years, to mature and disseminate a seed crop if the stand is to be
maintained. Artificial reseeding has been found, because of expense
and lack of species suitable to range conditions, to be less satisfactory
than natural revegetation, except in extreme cases.
The deferred and rotation system (114) developed by the Forest
Service is well adapted to meet natural reseeding requirements on
ranges used throughout the growing season. Under this system a
CONSERVATION THE EXCEPTION 261
given range unit is divided into from three to five subunits of
approximately equal grazing capacity. Grazing is deferred on one
of the subunits until after the seed of the more important range
plants is matured and disseminated, after which the subunit is grazed
to utilize the forage and aid, through trampling, to bring the seed
into contact with the soil. The next year a second area is deferred
and grazing on the first is delayed as late as possible to afford oppor-
tunity for the young seedlings to become established. Each subunit
is deferred in rotation in subsequent years. This system operates
very successfully on sheep ranges ; on cattle range fencing or natural
barriers to subdivide the range into subunits are necessary. It also
fits in well with livestock-production practices where lambs or cattle
are marketed direct from the range in the fall, because it affords
fresh range for grazing prior to marketing.
Another system introduced by the Forest Service is conservative
grazing throughout the grazing season to the point where in average
years, at least 25 percent of the important plants well distributed
over the range will attain seed maturity. It necessitates maintain-
ing even distribution of livestock. It is simpler to apply than the
deferred and rotation method, although it involves somewhat lighter
use prior to seed maturity. This system is especially well adapted
for use on ranges having a relatively long grazing season.
HANDLING LIVESTOCK ON THE RANGE
Prior to the establishment of administration on national-forest
ranges cattle and horses were turned loose to roam at will. Sheep
were herded, but bands were moved here and there, with little refer-
ence to the welfare of other herds or the range itself. About the
only restrictions were "dead lines" separating cattle range from sheep
range established in a few places as the result of the early range wars.
Only where water was limited and the range was controlled through
ownership of the watering places was there any semblance of order.
One of the first steps on the national forests to bring order out of
this chaos and to eliminate the resulting damage to the range was to
designate the area upon which each owner was to graze his livestock.
Sheep ranges have been divided into individual allotments, each of a
size and grazing capacity to accommodate one band of sheep for the
prescribed grazing season. Ranges for cattle have been divided,
usually into natural topographic units, and the cattle of specified
owners are assigned to particular units. Stock driveways were des-
ignated over which owners might move their livestock to and from
their allotted ranges without hindrance to other range users. Thus
order was established out of confusion and the users were encouraged
to take an interest in the condition of their ranges and to plan their
enterprises on a more secure basis. The adoption of the range-
allotment system and the elimination of the waste and destruction
of range forage which resulted from the needless trailing and tram-
pling incident to the jungle competition for the choicer pieces of
range was a major accomplishment in range preservation on the
national forests.
Both distribution and more even use of the range have been
obtained in other ways. On sheep ranges the wasteful system of
trailing into central bed grounds has been terminated. Sheep owners
262 THE WESTERN RANGE
were encouraged, and on many national forests required, to bed their
sheep where night overtook them and have the herder camp with the
sheep instead of bringing the sheep to camp. Bedding in one place
more than 3 nights in succession^ has been prohibited. Sheep owners
were encouraged to practice "open herding" allowing the sheep to
spread out in quiet open formation and to restrict the use of dogs.
Grazing quietly into water" instead of trailing long distances and not
shading up along streams was encouraged to the fullest extent.
Sheepmen soon saw the value of open herding and bedding-out sys-
tems, because, in addition to conserving the range, it resulted in 5 to 7
pounds greater gains in lambs.
Desirable distribution has proved to be more difficult with cattle
than with sheep, especially on rough or mountainous land. The ten-
dency is for cattle to overutilize the flatter places and underutilize the
steeper slopes. Even on rolling or flat range, cattle congregate around
watering places and damage the forage, particularly if the range is
not well watered. Systematically locating salt grounds and salting
at the right time and in the proper quantities has done much to bring
about better distribution of cattle (32).
Herding and range riding, often required of the owners of cattle
using the range, is another effective method applied to obtain better
distribution. Riders and herders usually pay their own way by
preventing straying and other losses.
RANGE IMPROVEMENTS AND CULTURAL PRACTICES
Various improvements which have been constructed on the national
forests also have done much to improve range use, check depletion,
and help restore the range. Drift and division fences have been used
effectively in controlling and distributing cattle. Additional water
developments have been instituted to help improve distribution on
poorly watered range as well as to reduce congestion and trampling
around drinking places. Trails and bridges have been built to open
up otherwise inaccessible range. By the reduction of poisonous plants
areas have been made safer which formerly were lightly used because
of danger of poisoning livestock.
Rodents have been controlled on nearly 13 million acres on the
national forests under direction of the Bureau of Biological Survey
an achievement that has not only reduced range depletion but has
made available much additional forage for livestock. The Biological
Survey also has materially aided the livestock industry and helped
increase the game supply on national forests by its constant efforts to
control predatory animals.
Many tests to reseed fully depleted ranges artificially have been
made by the Forest Service (52) and some reseeding has been done.
This method of range restoration is considered practicable if properly
done. The best sites have responded satisfactorily to the species thus
far found to be suitable. Areas for seeding must be selected with
care. Ranges requiring reseeding are frequently those which have
lost the better top soil by accelerated erosion. Many such sites are
naturally too poor to respond readily.
CONSERVATION THE EXCEPTION 263
INTERMINGLED STATE AND PRIVATE LANDS
The administration of grazing on the national forests is compli-
cated by the occurrence of an aggregate of 10,500,000 acres of private
or State-owned range intermingled in various-sized tracts with the
Federal grazing lands. Most of this land was acquired either be-
fore the national forests were established or later under the forest
homestead law. When such tracts are unfenced and are grazed
without correlation with national-forest land, it is difficult to prevent
trespass. A satisfactory procedure has been worked out whereby the
owner of such lands waives exclusive use of his private land to the
Government in exchange for a permit to graze free the number of
livestock equivalent to the grazing capacity of the private lands, on
some more convenient part of the national forest. In 1934, 3,677,000
acres of alienated land were handled under this plan. Where the
owner does not graze livestock of his own, he may enter into a
cooperative agreement with the Federal Government to receive a
share of the receipts from other permitted livestock. This pro-
cedure results both in simplified management of national-forest
range and in the privately owned land receiving the benefit of
regulated use.
KANGE-MANAGEMENT PLANS
Out of the necessity for maintaining consistent action from year
to year, and because of the multiplicity of elements involved in the
management of the range resources, the Forest Service has worked
out a system of specific range-management planning. General plans
are prepared for a national-forest and ranger district, but the indi-
vidual allotment or other range unit is the basic planning unit.
The more important features in the development of a management
plan are an appraisal or inventory of the resources, an analysis of
the problems, the setting up of objectives, and defining the plan of
action to reach the objectives. As much as possible of the pertinent
data are shown on maps, including grazing capacity, period of use,
movements of the stock on the range, location of salt grounds, pres-
ent and needed range improvements, and deferred and rotation graz-
ing systems. The plans for individual allotments, insofar as prac-
ticable, are worked out in cooperation with the user. The current
program and usually a management map are furnished each per-
mittee or cattle association. The plans are revised from time to
time as experience and observation prove this to be necessary.
A systematic method of making surveys to obtain an inventory
of the range resources and other basic data for determining grazing
capacity and preparing range-management plans has been developed
and applied. Up to the year 1934, approximately 50 million acres
or 61 percent of the total usable range had been covered by such
range surveys. Acceptable management plans have been completed
for 82 percent of the individual range units in the national forests,
including both those based upon range surveys and those on less
comprehensive information. The remaining 18 percent have un-
satisfactory plans or plans in various stages of completion.
The demand for range use is so great on most national-forest
ranges as to warrant making fullest safe use of the forage. Under
these circumstances regular periodic inspections are necessary in
264 THE WESTERN RANGE
order to discuss problems with the users, see that plans are being
complied with, check on trespass, and observe conditions of the
range. At least two intensive inspections a year by a qualified forest
officer have been found to be the minimum requirement on intensively
used ranges.
OBSTACLES AND PROBLEMS IN RANGE MANAGEMENT
Numerous difficulties and obstacles have retarded a more prompt
and fuller attainment of objectives and have left many problems
still to be solved in range management on the national forests.
Some of these would naturally arise in any attempt to establish a
new order in land utilization. Others are due to economic, social,
and political forces of the times. Still others are inherent in the
ranges themselves.
SOCIAL, POLITICAL, AND ECONOMIC INFLUENCES
One of the more deep-seated obstacles to greater progress in range
restoration on the national forests has been the delay in practical
acceptance of principles of conservation by the stockmen, in spite of
the fact that it was in their interest in the long run to do so. There
is broad agreement as to the validity of the general theory of hus-
banding the resources of the land but its application has not been
readily incorporated into actual practice. One has only to know
the situation on most of the privately owned range lands in the West
to be convinced of this fact.
That this obstacle has been encountered perhaps is not surprising.
The national-forest enterprise constitutes the initial attempt in the
United States to apply conservation principles on a large scale in the
use of public land. It represents the very antithesis of the exploita-
tion which, until a positive administration was undertaken on the
national forests, had pervaded so much of land use in this country.
It is a reversal of the old economic order of extracting everything
possible from the soil for immediate profit without regard for its
effect on sustained yield or future needs. More or less resistance to
such a change naturally was to be expected.
Not all of the restrictions necessary to protect and maintain the
range on the national forests have been opposed by the stockmen;
some have been readily agreed to and others passively accepted. In
too many other instances, however, there has been active opposi-
tion sometimes from purely selfish motives and strong political
pressure has been brought to bear, all of which has greatly delayed
though seldom defeated adjustments needed to conserve the range.
Economic conditions, also, have interfered with adjustments in
range use. National-forest range users often have been the victims
of circumstances which have forced them to think largely in terms
of immediate needs and to request delays in reductions of numbers
of stock or changes in practice's to protect the range. The inade-
quate credit facilities, high interest rates, poor markets, maladjust-
ments in land use, high cost of feed, inadequate supplemental range,
aggression by stronger competitors in the use of the open public
domain, and speculative land values that livestock producers have
had to face, have somewhat hampered the application of national-
CONSEKVATION THE EXCEPTION 265
forest management practices. Often it has been in the interest of
immediate individual and community welfare for the Forest Service
to retard adjustments in range use until economic conditions were
more favorable for the stockmen to meet their business obligations.
During the past 5 years of economic difficulty, for example, one
means of extending relief has been to delay making necessary reduc-
tions in grazing use even though these were needed to repair dam-
age by drought and to avert further impairment of the range.
CHANGING DEMANDS
New requirements incident to the growth and development of the
West have created new demands for the public use of national-forest
resources. The increased demand for game and recreational use and
a fuller appreciation of the requirements for watershed protection
are examples. The immediate needs of range users must be con-
sidered in meeting the requirements of these broader public interests.
Adjustments seldom can be made abruptly without subjecting those
directly dependent on the land for a livelihood to hardships. Some-
times overzealous demands, based upon misunderstanding, as, for
example, the opposition to the reduction of game animals on ranges
overgrazed by game, result in sharp clashes between conflicting in-
terests and in delayed action. Usually it is in the greater public
interest to work these problems out slowly even though to do so
involves some delay in range restoration.
THE WORLD WAR
The effect on the range of the United States' entrance into the
World War in 1917 has already been mentioned. With the whole
Nation turning its efforts toward increasing the production of mate-
rials and supplies needed for national defense, restrictions against
overstocking the national-forest ranges were necessarily slackened.
This was done as a part of the program to increase supplies of meat
and wool, even though it was realized that to do so would lead
temporarily to delayed range improvement and possibly to impair-
ment. Some of the ranges were overstocked when the United States
entered the war. The total increase on the national forests during
1917 and 1918 amounted to 188,000 cattle and 876,000 sheep, or ap-
proximately a 10-percent increase on ranges already fully or over-
stocked. In view of the fact that producers had been encouraged
to enlarge their operations and could not liquidate on short notice
after the close of the war without undue sacrifice, these excess live-
stock were not removed at once. The adverse economic conditions
which followed shortly after the close of the war further delayed
and complicated the necessary adjustments. It was not until 1923,
fully 5 years after the war, that these excess livestock were all re-
moved. In the meantime considerable damage to the range has
resulted from overgrazing which called for further reductions.
DROUGHT
The variable climate has been another handicap to progress, as
indicated in a previous section. Rainfall especially has varied
266 THE WESTERN RANGE
widely from year to year and between groups of years. The aim
has been to stock the ranges conservatively enough to avoid injury
from droughts of short duration. Long-term droughts have been
more difficult to meet. Rainfall has been below average over most
western ranges since about 1917 or 1918, and there have been years of
severe drought within this period. In the very serious drought of
1928 to 1934 the absence of available feed made it impractical to
remove livestock from the national-forest range, and in some cases
necessitated increased use as a measure of drought relief. The defi-
ciency in forage production without a commensurate reduction in the
numbers of livestock eventuated in serious overgrazing which, to-
gether with the weakened condition of the range vegetation attribut-
able directly to drought, culminated in serious widespread depletion
of the range. To this set of circumstances is chargeable the major
part of the reductions in numbers of livestock needed for range pro-
tection on the national forests at the present time.
THE CHARACTER OF THE RANGE
The physical character of the national forests themselves make it
extremely difficult to apply management which will result in uni-
form improvement of the range. The wide variation in elevation
from foothills to high mountain tops, the broken topography, differ-
ences in soils, slopes, and exposures, and the resulting differences in
climate and growing conditions, give rise to a variety of conditions
as to plant cover and usability of the range often within a hori-
zontal distance of only a few miles. The vegetation on the whole
is naturally not resistant to close use or heavy trampling. The bal-
ance between plant cover and stability of the soils is delicate and
the steep slopes, thin cover, loose soils, and torrential rainfall induce
erosion immediately when the plant cover is broken. Because of all
these conditions local overgrazed areas or "sore spots" have
persisted.
Soil depletion, as the result of overuse and consequent erosion
existent on extensive areas when grazing administration was under-
taken, has been a serious handicap to range restoration. Rehabili-
tation of these soils necessarily is a slow process and insufficient
time has elapsed to result in much improvement. On some ranges in
Utah, for example, there has been but slight recovery on severely
eroded soils on which grazing has been excluded for the past 20
years.
MALADJUSTMENTS IN RANGE USE AND OWNERSHIP
When first placed under regulation much of the national-forest
range was being grazed for longer seasons than proper management
would allow. Solution of this problem has been slow and difficult
because of the shortage of available spring and fall range on outside
land. Certain of the outside range lands which might best be used
for this purpose in connection with national-forest range including
parts of the open public domain were being used at other seasons.
Much of the available spring and fall range was badly depleted. The
area originally suitable for this purpose has been greatly reduced by
cultivation. As yet the seasonal-use problem has not been satisfac-
torily solved on 12 percent of the national-forest range allotments.
CONSERVATION THE EXCEPTION 267
nor will be until some major readjustments are made in use of the
outside land.
Other maladjustments in ownership or control of land which com-
plicate range management exist within and along national-forest
boundaries. Approximately 12 percent of the grazing land within
national forests, or about 10,500,000 acres, is alienated and of this
only 3,677,000 acres is being handled as an integrated part of na-
tional-forest range units. Efforts to exclude all but timber and im-
portant watershed land when the national forests were established as
well as subsequent eliminations have resulted in many natural range
units being left partly inside and partly outside the national-forest
boundaries. This has prevented proper management and coordination
of use of land both inside and outside the forests.
DELAYS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF RANGE MANAGEMENT
Still another handicap to higher attainment on national-forest
ranges, already mentioned, was the lack at the outset of an ex-
perienced and trained personnel and the paucity of knowledge of
range management. Range management was a new field in which
the ground had scarcely been broken. It was only as the personnel
became better trained and more experienced and as new facts and
principles were developed by research that standards and practices
of the "rule-of -thumb" era were discarded and scientific range man-
agement began to take shape.
Lack of sufficient funds to carry out various undertakings as soon
as they were recognized to be needed in the application of better
range management has been another cause for delay. Earlier in-
stallations of fences and watering places would have helped to speed
up range rehabilitation. The range-research program has been slow
in getting under way. A larger technically trained range-manage-
ment personnel is needed. Numerous problems, many of urgent
importance, remain to be solved. There are 56,800,000 acres of na-
tional-forest range land still to be covered by resource surveys to
supply data for the preparation of adequate management plans.
RANGE-DISTRIBUTION POLICY
Most of the ranges were already fully occupied when the national
forests were established, chiefly by large livestock owners who were
operating on an industrial basis, but also by homesteaders and other
settlers who had come in and were beginning to gain a foothold on
the range. The country was still in the developmental stage. The
West was looked upon as the land of opportunity for the home
seeker. The general conception of the times was that all an indi-
vidual needed was the opportunity to obtain a piece of land and a
few head of livestock and with the free play of economic forces he
would eventually build up an economic home unit; the national-
forest regulations were framed to foster this kind of development.
In carrying out this objective with regard to the use of the range,
the following policies have been applied in the allocation of grazing
privileges: (1) Preference is given to the small settler or home
builder to afford him an opportunity to build up his agricultural
enterprise into a unit capable of satisfactorily supporting a home:
268 THE WESTERN RANGE
(2) in order to obtain the highest use of both public range and farm
land, preference is given to owners of farm land or winter range
who require summer range for the number of livestock they can
support during the remainder of the year with the products of their
cropland or on owned range land, or both; (3) no rights have been
allowed to accrue to permittees, but in order to promote stability in
livestock agriculture, individuals best qualified under the regulations
have been safeguarded in their use of the range to the fullest extent
consistent with objects of the national forests and the needs of other
qualified range users.
Permits to graze were issued at first to all stockmen who had been
making bona-fide use of the range for a number of years prior to the
time it was set aside as national forest.
Rules and regulations designed to encourage redistribution to small
owners without forcing sudden sacrifices on bona-fide, previously
established users were then applied and subsequently have been fol-
lowed in the issuance of the year-to-year or occasional term permits.
Ownership rather than leasing of land is given prior consideration
because leasing lacks permanency and involves the elements of specu-
lation. Residence on the ranch property is given preference over
nonresidence.
In order to interfere as little as possible with legitimate business
transactions, the permit of an established permittee is renewable to
the purchaser of the dependent and otherwise qualified ranch prop-
erty of an established permittee, or of permitted livestock, if the pur-
chaser already owns properly qualified ranch property. Since a
grazing preference is a privilege and not a right, it must be waived
by the seller of the ranch or livestock to the Government which in
turn renews it to the new purchaser. In the case of the death of an
established range user the permits may be renewed to the heirs.
Whenever the range is overstocked or there is a demand by other
better qualified users, the size of the permit to the purchaser or heir
may be reduced prior to renewal.
In order to prevent monopoly of the range by the purchase of
ranch lands or livestock entitled to a grazing preference, and the
exclusion thereby of other qualified users, a maximum number any
individual may graze has been established for each national forest,
beyond which a permit number may not be increased, except under
extraordinary circumstances.
Minimum limits also have been established below which no per-
mit number is reduced, to make room for new users or to increase
small permits. Such reductions are made on the larger sized per-
mits. This minimum limit is, in each case, an approximation of
the minimum number of livestock which, in connection with the
owned farm and range land, will help to produce a reasonable
standard of living for a family, and varies depending upon local
circumstances and conditions. It is lower where it relates to di-
versified agricultural enterprises in which the grazing of a few
livestock is essential to supplement farm-crop production. It is
higher where it applies to enterprises where livestock raising in
connection with forage-crop production or owned winter range is
the chief source of income.
CONSERVATION THE EXCEPTION 269
OUTCOME OF DISTRIBUTION POLICY
The system of allocating the use of the range on the national
forests on the whole has contributed materially to the stability and
maintenance of western livestock agriculture. The practice of relat-
ing the use of the public range to the other agricultural resources
has resulted in making both types of land contribute a higher eco-
nomic return than if each had been used independently. The ad-
ministration of the national forests has been the largest accomplish-
ment in planned land used in the West. The forage supply on
national-forest range has been the most dependable of all of the
factors entering into the economy of livestock producing enterprises.
The advantage which the bigger, more aggressive operator might
have exercised on the range by virtue of stronger financial position
and greater resourcefulness has been removed.
However, the expectation that there would be a material building
up in the number of individuals benefited and in the number of live-
stock they each grazed has not been fulfilled. Instead of a wider
distribution of grazing privileges among a larger number of in-
dividuals, the situation, especially with cattle, is much the same as
in 1909.
There were 27,237 permittees in 1909 and 26,224 in 1934. The rela-
tive number of cattle permittees in each of four permit-size classes,
as shown in table 50 (columns 2, 5, 8, and 11) has remained ap-
proximately the same over the 25-year period, as has also the rela-
tive proportion of the number of cattle in each class (columns 3,
6, 9, and 12) and the average size of the permits (columns 4, 7, 10, and
13). The only notable exception has been a decrease in the average
size of permit in class IV, the largest size class, from 501 head in
1909 to 425 head in 1934. The smallest size class of permittees,
who make up 62 percent of the total number, own only 15 percent
of the total number of cattle grazed. On the other hand, the 7
percent of cattle permittees in the largest size class own 44 percent
of the total number grazed.
The situation with sheep is somewhat different. Sheep permit-
tees number only about one-fourth as many as cattle permittees,
although they own approximately one-half the combined livestock
units (sheep being counted at a 5 to 1 ratio with cattle) . The rela-
tive number of permittees in the small-size class (column 2 in table
50) has increased appreciably as has also the relative number of
sheep in this class (column 3) ; however, a part of this increase, as
well as a part of the decrease in the number of class I cattle permit-
tees is due to permittees having exchanged from cattle to sheep.
There has also been a decline at the opposite end of the scale, in
270
THE WESTERN RANGE
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CONSERVATION THE EXCEPTION 271
relative number of permittees (column 11), in relative total num-
ber of sheep grazed (column 12), and in average size of permit
(column 13). These decreases have been reflected in a decline of
about 30 percent in the average size of sheep permit (column 14).
The data on sheep permits^ therefore, indicate that there has been
noticeable redistribution among the various size classes.
Size of permit, however, is not the only criterion of sufficiency of
numbers of livestock to meet the needs of individual permittees.
The size classes, especially for cattle and to some extent for sheep,
shown in table 50 relate to many kinds of livestock-agriculture en-
terprises, varying from small diversified farms with a few head of
cattle or dairy farms which require summer range for a few head
of young animals, to practically exclusive livestock-producing
ranches, with all sorts of combinations in between. A few to 40
head of cattle or up to a few hundred sheep, for example, form a
very valuable and usually sufficient adjunct to other farm production
on a diversified farm, both as a source of fertilizer for field soils
and of cash income. On the other hand, this small number is
seldom sufficient to round out a satisfactory home-supporting unit
when livestock are the chief source of income. Since the permits
relating to the various kinds of livestock-agriculture enterprises are
not segregated in the available data presented in table 50, size of
permit alone does not show the full significance of the range-use
distribution policy of the Forest Service.
In order better to understand the influence that economic forces
may have had on size of permits on national forests, a comparison
should be made with otherwise similar livestock-agriculture enter-
prises which do not participate in the use of national-forest range ;
but data to make such comparison are not available. A possible
hint along this line, however, is contained in the census data showing
that the average number of cattle and sheep per farm in the 11
Western States has decreased in approximately the same degree as
the average size of permits on the national forests. The average
size of cattle permit declined from 72 head in 1909 to 69 head in
1934, and the average number of cattle per farm from 24 head in
1910 to 20 head in 1930. Similarly, sheep per farm declined from
74 head in 1910 to 50 head in 1930, or about 32 percent as compared
to a decline of about 30 percent in average size of sheep permits
on the national forests. It would appear from these data that the
trend has been approximately the same among owners who do or do
not use the national-forest ranges.
Many factors other than the policy of administration as expressed
in the Forest Service regulations have had an influence in the re-
distribution of grazing privileges on the national forests, and in
many instances these may have dominated. Adequate data are not
available for a thorough analysis but, as shown in the following
paragraphs, certain conclusions may be based on the information
at hand.
272 THE WESTERN RANGE
During the period 1909 to 1934, a fairly large number of permits
was granted to owners in the smallest size class who had not previ-
ously used the national-forest range. Substantial reductions were
made also in the larger-sized permits to provide range for the be-
ginners and to increase the size of many of the smaller permits. In
a few places permits in the two intermediate size classes have been
granted to new applicants but only where unused range was not
wanted by small operators. Practically all of the reductions in size
of permit for the benefit of range protection have been made in
the larger-sized classes. Only in rare instances, where there were not
enough large permits to absorb the reductions needed for range pro-
tection, have cuts been made in the smaller-sized permits.
In spite of this deliberate action by the Forest Service and a
negligible number of cancelations of grazing permits for the per-
sistent violation of the national-forest regulations or for other
cause, there has been a slight decline in the relative number of small
cattle permittees. Furthermore there has been no sustained increase
in the average size of permits held by them.
Many of the small permit holders have sold their ranch property
or permitted livestock or both to other stockmen to whom the permit
has been renewed and in this manner two or more preferences in
numerous instances have been combined. In some cases small op-
erators have built up their permits into the next size class. In
other cases larger operators whose permits have been reduced either
for redistribution to other users or for range protection, subsequently
purchased additional livestock or ranch property of some smaller
permittees, and in that way many of the larger permits have been
more nearly maintained than otherwise would have been the case.
For still other cases, the permits, usually in the small size classes,
have been voluntarily abandoned.
A study made in several of the Western States in 1935 indicates
the extent to which preferences have been passed from one permit
holder to another or abandoned during the period 1905 to 1934. In
Wyoming, Idaho, Nevada, and eastern Oregon, as shown in table 51,
there has been a relatively heavier dropping out of small permittees
and the larger permits on the whole have been the most stable. On
the other hand, in Utah the small permits have been more stable and
more of them are still in the hands of the original holders than in
any of the other States. In Utah, relatively more of the permit
holders are engaged in diversified farming or outside labor and de-
pend less upon livestock for their income than in the other four
States. A study in eastern Oregon shows further that about 75
percent of the permittees who have dropped out did so within 5
years after obtaining a permit. These data suggest that where live-
stock production is the chief source of income, the small-sized per-
mits are not economically sufficient and after a few years of use the
livestock are sold and the permit is transferred to a new holder,
either another new small owner, an already established small permit
holder who is endeavoring to build up to an economic unit, or an
established large-sized permit holder who desires further to build up
his permit.
CONSERVATIOH THE EXCEPTION
273
The data in table 51 also indicate a considerable lack of stability
in ownership of livestock in all permit-size classes. During the past
30 years there has been an average of almost two predecessors for
every present permit holder or an average length of life of a permit
of between 10 and 15 years. This succession in ownership is ascribed
to the unsettled condition in agriculture in the Western States. The
lowest turn-over on the average has been in Utah where there is
more extensive diversified farming in the vicinity of the national
forests and a more settled type of agriculture than in the other
States. No data are available to afford a comparison in stability of
livestock ownership by ranches using outside range with those using
national-forest range.
TABLE 51. Percent of, original permittees wUo have dropped out on national
forests in 5 Western States, 1905-34
Size class
Utah
Wyoming
Idaho
Nevada
Eastern
Oregon
CATTLE
F(l to 40 head)
Percent
61
54
63
69
45
39
50
75
Percent
04
53
54
37
67
33
12
Percent
73
65
69
46
82
75
75
67
Percent
87
81
60
61
73
56
67
55
Percent
87
78
79
73
85
79
77
77
II (41 to 100 head)
III (101 to 200 head)
IV (over 200 head)
SHEEP
I (1 to 1,000 head)...
II (1,001 to 2,500 head)
III (2,501 to 4,000 head)
IV (over 4,000 head)
These admittedly incomplete data substantiate a conclusion based
on wide observation, that economic forces beyond the influence of the
national forests have played a large part in controlling the distri-
bution of grazing privileges. Small-sized permits, except where
associated with diversified farming or other source of income, be-
cause of being undersized or submarginal in character, have proven
insufficient in many instances to constitute a base upon which the
small settler might build a satisfactory home unit and have been
abandoned or transferred from one holder to another. More often
the transfers are to a larger permit holder because the small permit
holder who might like to enlarge is unable to buy the necessary land
upon which to care for his livestock for the portion of the year
they are not on the national-forest range.
Other factors have had some influence also. One of these is the
term permit. When these are in effect there is less opportunity to
make reductions on the larger permits for the benefit of smaller
holders.
A second factor has been the need for making reductions in num-
ber of livestock grazed for the purpose of range protection. Almost
all of these reductions have fallen on the large operators, and when
these cuts have been heavy there has been a reluctance on the part
of the Forest Service to make additional reductions for the purpose
of admitting new permittees or granting increases to small permit
holders.
6494036 19
274 THE WESTERN RANGE
In some degree also the Forest Service perhaps has not been aggres-
sive enough in carrying out the policy of redistribution in favor of
the small settler. There are a number of rather large permits still
in existence, although all of them have been greatly reduced at one
time or another. Some of these at least, after having been reduced,
have been built up again through purchase by the holder of ranch
property or livestock of another permittee. On the other hand, the
small number of livestock granted to many of the small permittees
undoubtedly has been insufficient to constitute economic-sized operat-
ing units, and the permits have been given up or the livestock sold
to someone else. The heavier turn-over in small permit holders in
many States strongly suggests this possibility. The alternative
would be granting an economic-sized permit to begin with. At any
rate, it is apparent that merely granting a small permit will not
suffice as the sole basis for building up an economic unit, and the
fact remains that there is still a large number of small farmers in and
adjacent to the national forests, many of whom have no permit at all
and others who have only a small permit, insufficient satisfactorily
to support a home.
The national-forest range, however, is insufficient to afford any-
where near an adequate size of permit to all of these settlers, even
if the larger-sized permits were eliminated entirely. Further redis-
tribution of grazing use on public land is desirable in many locali-
ties, some of which can be done without more fundamental
adjustments, but the lack of sufficient range to meet all needs sug-
gests the necessity of finding other means than further distribution
in the use of national-forest range alone to solve the problem. It
would be unwise to attempt redistribution on a big scale without a
sounder basis than the present available information can afford. At
most, it is a national-forest problem only in part. All ownerships
of land, including farm land, privately owned, and State range land,
the grazing districts, and the remaining open public land, should
be considered together in order to adjust and harmonize ownership
and use among all classes of land. There are two courses to follow,
either the doctrine of laissez faire, in which the fittest will finally
survive, which, except for the preference given the smaller per-
mittees on national-forest range, has been the policy of the past, or
the planned way of ascertaining the facts relating to all classes of
land and then determine the course which will result in the greatest
benefit to the greatest number of people. This constitutes one of
the major unsolved problems in national-forest and other types of
land use.
NET RESULTS OF 30 YEARS OF RANGE ADMINISTRATION
The national forests represent the pioneering effort to apply con-
servation and planned land management on a large scale in the
United States. During 30 years of intensive administration, range
management on these areas has been confronted by the many obsta-
cles and difficulties detailed in the preceding pages, all of which
have in some measure hindered and delayed necessary action and
retarded the accomplishment desired. During this period, however,
definite aims and objectives in line with maintaining and improving
the natural resource have been held to, whereas on private and most
CONSERVATION THE EXCEPTION 275
-other public ranges exploitation of the resource has continued with
little effort to control it.
The net results of these 30 years of effort may be summarized as
follows :
1. The trend of depletion of the range has been checked, and no-
table improvement is the rule. The grazing capacity of the range
area in use in 1934 has been improved 19 percent since 1910. Grazing
capacity on national-forest ranges today is, on the whole, TO per-
cent of that on virgin range, as compared to 33 percent on the graz-
ing districts and the public domain and 49 percent on privately
owned lands in the Western States. At the present time, even in
spite of a long period of deficient rainfall, the 1928-34 drought, and
the extra demands of the 1929-35 depression, only ^19 percent of the
range area on national forests is in such condition as to require
major adjustments in use to permit continued improvement.
2. The watershed lands, which include the heads of practically
all of the important streams furnishing water for irrigation, hydro-
electric power, and domestic use in the West, have been protected
from serious damage and are mostly in an improved condition.
Many mountain streams subject to destructive floods and mud flows
from torrential summer rains when the national forests were estab-
lished seldom have such floods today. Disastrous floods on national-
forest watersheds are rare occurrences except from recent burns or
those few areas on which an adequate cover has not been restored.
This is in sharp contrast to much similar privately owned or other
Federal lands, excepting the ungrazed national parks and municipal
watersheds. Erosion of topsoil and gullying have in a large meas-
ure been checked on national forests, although they are still too
prevalent. They are extremely small in relation to the extent of
erosion on other lands. Along with the benefit of watershed pro-
tection, streams in the national forests have been maintained in
condition to support trout and other game fish.
3. The policy of "multiple use" developed on national-forest land
has made available all of the resources in a manner to obtain the
highest net use of all the land. Of the 87,954,000 acres of usable
grazing land only 5,416,000 acres have been closed for other more
important uses. On the remaining 82,538,000 acres, watershed pro-
tection, timber production, grazing, production of wildlife, and rec-
reational use are correlated and harmonized.
4. When the national forests were established, the population of
wildlife in the Western States was at or near its lowest point in
history. By giving wildlife a definite place in land management,
by urging and assisting in the enactment of better State game laws,
by cooperating with the several States in game-law enforcement,
and in the establishment of more than 100 game refuges on the
national forests, and by developing better game management, the
number of game animals and possibilities for hunting have been
greatly increased. The control of predatory animals under the di-
rection of the Biological Survey has also helped greatly in raising
the game population. Big-game animals on range lands in 1924,
the first year complete estimates were made for all species, num-
bered approximately 613,000 head. In 1934 they were estimated to
number 1,084,000, or an increase in that period of 77 percent. By
developing roads into the national forests and by planting fish in
276 THE WESTERN RANGE
streams in cooperation with other Federal agencies and States, rec-
reational sport has been made available to hundreds of thousands
of fishermen. The additional hunting and fishing not only has
added to recreational enjoyment by city and country people alike,
but the goods and services required by sportsmen have added to the
business of merchants, hotels, and guides in the communities adjacent
to the national forests.
5. The giving of preference in the use of the forage resources on
the national forests to nearby residents who need summer-range land
to supplement and properly utilize their farm and winter-range
land, and thereby to supplement and round out farm or ranch home
units, has resulted in higher use of both the national forest and
privately owned land. It represents one of the few large-scale
efforts to put better land use into effect. Although successful inso-
far as it has gone, accomplishments have been limited by maladjust-
ments in land use and ownership, economic conditions, and other
factors outside the national forests.
6. The aim of protecting the small operator and affording him
the opportunity to build up an economic home unit has been accom-
plished only in part. National-forest administration helped to put
an end to range wars, eliminated the nomad operator on the summer
range, and protected the little man against monopoly of the range by
his stronger, more aggressive neighbor. Small operators have been
afforded more than equal opportunity with large operators to use the
range. The various other elements in range livestock production,
including credits, markets, cost of feed, and land values, have been
far less stable or dependable than the availability and cost of na-
tional-forest range forage. However, the expectation that many of
the smaller operators would build up into units capable of satisfac-
torily maintaining a family has not been realized. Large operators
are fewer in number and have been reduced in size in order both to
stop overgrazing the range and to make more range available to small
operators. Nevertheless, the relative number of small operators and
the average number of cattle grazed by them have not been increased,
although there has been an increase in the number of small sheep
owners. The lack of increases in the case of cattle is believed to be
due in a large degree to maladjustments in land use and ownership
outside the national forests and in some degree, probably, to a too
conservative application of the redistribution policy.
7. The final objective in the protection, development, and use of
the national-forest resources is the establishment and maintenance
of a stable population. The net results of the dependability of the
range-forage crop, the greater opportunity for small operators, cor-
relation of national-forest range with dependent farm and ranch
land, and multiple use of the related resources has contributed mate-
rially to stabilizing home and community development. The settle-
ments around the national forests have a dependable supply of wood,
water, forage, game, and recreational advantages. These lands are
great reservoirs of useful work in time of economic stress. The
counties in which national-forest ranges lie receive 25 percent of the
receipts collected for grazing and other uses for their roads and
schools. The development and protection of the national-forest
properties and other work done by the Federal Government is a
source of income to local labor, has relieved the several States of
CONSERVATION THE EXCEPTION 277
heavy expenditures, and has prevented the waste of resources basic
to the welfare of these States.
8. In its endeavor to solve its own range land and watershed prob-
lems the Forest Service has developed a science and practice of range
management and watershed protection which is applicable to other
classes of range land as well. It has pioneered the way in the soil-
erosion problem on forest and range lands and was the first to under-
take comprehensive study of it. It has been among the first to study
and obtain concrete information on the range problem on the open
public domain and has constantly urged action to correct it.
9. The average annual cost of administration of grazing on the
national forests for the 4 years ended June 30, 1935, was 0.89 cents
per acre of usable range. This cost, however, does not include the
cost of range improvements constructed with emergency and relief
funds and personnel during 1932 to 1935. Present personnel and
facilities for administration, however, are inadequate to render the
services required and should be enlarged. The income from grazing
for this period amounts to 1.46 cents per acre. Whether or not this
cost of administration is too high should be judged only on the basis
of the needs of this job. The Forest Service has held to two broad
aims or objectives conservation and protection of the resources and
provision of the maximum public benefits therefrom. Either or both
may be sacrificed ; but if so, it must be expected that cheaper admin-
istration will result either in damage to the resources or in reducing
use to a point where the dependent population will be denied the
resources which otherwise might be available to them, either of which
lead to social and economic losses.
These accomplishments are attributable to the following:
1. The setting up of definite aims and objectives and adhering to
them.
2. Anticipating problems and preparing to meet them.
3. A decentralized form of organization.
4. Professional resident management.
5. Accepting full responsibility for decisions, even when superfi-
cially contrary to immediate advantage of range users.
6. Equal consideration for all resources.
7. A long-term viewpoint which leaves the way open for meeting
new needs as they arise in the use of the resources.
8. Jurisdiction over the national forests in the Department of
Agriculture, where activities relating to growth from the soil are
grouped.
Many problems remain to be solved. Further adjustments are
needed to reduce use to the grazing capacity of the range. Seasonal
changes are needed on 12 percent of the grazing allotments. Man-
agement plans including range inventories have not been completed
for all the ranges. Additional improvements, artificial reseeding,
and other work remain to be done. Adjustments must be made as
needed to meet the requirements of multiple use. During 1932 to
1935 intensive range management has lagged, owing to so much
time of resident forest officers being required on emergency relief
work. Probably the biggest single unsolved problem in connection
with the national-forest ranges is the development of a more ade-
quate basis for distributing grazing privileges in accordance with
sound social and economic policies. This involves correcting malad-
278 THE WESTERN RANGE
justments in land use on outside agricultural land as well as a resur-
vey of national-forest policies. Additional research is the founda-
tion to the solution of many of the problems.
INDIAN LANDS
Kange lands within Indian reservations occupy a unique place in
the consideration of the national-range situation. This is so, not on
account of the considerable area or commercial importance, but be-
cause these lands belonging to the Indians constitute a definite re-
sponsibility of the Federal Government for management and ad-
ministration.
The legal status of each Indian reservation or individual tract of
Indian land now rests firmly on the provisions of an Indian treaty,
and Executive order, or Federal patent, definitely recognizing or es-
tablishing indisputable Indian title to the property and in most in-
stances restricting passage of this title. The Indians are wards of
the Federal Government and this guardianship extends to the super-
vision and administration of the Indian lands.
The uses to which the Indian range has been devoted, the steps
taken in its administration, the present ownership status, and even
the extent and physical condition of the resources are intricately
involved with the ever-changing degree of interest in Indian affairs ;
and are reflections of the efforts of the Federal Government to direct
the use of the land resources of the Indian toward fostering his social
and economic development. The multiplicity of aims and social
theories involved has resulted in a rather complicated pattern of
achievement.
In 1849 the Bureau of Indian Affairs was transferred from the
War Department into civil control as a bureau of the Department
of the Interior. Since then the functions of the Bureau of Indian
Affairs have been developed to a high degree of beneficent paternal-
ism. In addition to providing services as an aid to the health, edu-
cation, employment, and other personal needs of the Indians, progres-
sive steps have been taken in the management and development of
the reservation properties, including activities directed toward the
conservative management of the Indian range lands (83).
INDIAN RANGE RESOURCES
Over 80 percent of the total land in Indian ownership is within
the range livestock-producing regions of the West. Plant types and
forage characteristics of these broad regions have been fully dis-
cussed in an earlier part of this report, and are not reviewed here
except to mention that the forage on the various Indian reservations
is basically the same as that which occurs generally throughout the
territory of which they are a part. Several plant types suitable to
the ranging of both sheep and cattle are found on each major reser-
vation regardless of location. The distribution of Indian land
valued for forage production by States and grazing types recognized
by the Indian Service, as compiled from 1934 statistics, are presented
in table 52. Of the 43,200,000 acres given a range-land classification,
slightly over 3 million is listed as barren or waste, leaving a balance
of over 40,000,000 acres for use by livestock.
CONSERVATION THE EXCEPTION
279
On nearly all of the 47 reservations summarized in table 52, full
use is made of the annual forage crop. In 1934 approximately 10
million acres were under temporary lease or permit to whites, pend-
ing the time the range is needed for Indian livestock. Indian live-
stock owners paid grazing fees on an additional 1.7 million acres and
on the remainder, comprising nearly three-fourths of the total,
Indian-owned livestock were grazed on a free use basis.
The relative proportions of white and Indian ownership and the
total livestock reported using the range in 1934, are shown in table 53.
TABLE 52. Areas of Indian reservations of range importance by types and
States
State
All range
land
Open land
Sage and
browse
type
Coniferous
timberland
Woodland
Aspen
Waste and
barren
Arizona .
Acres
22, 318, 555
Acres
9, 520, 391
Acres
4, 860, 534
Acres
2, 230, 441
Acres
3, 706, 118
Acres
3,740
Acres
1 997 331
California
372, 935
21, 825
123, 840
33 620
68 812
134 838
Colorado ..
533, 332
44,000
49,000
418, 186
12, 814
12 332
Idaho
424, 484
10,000
370, 324
44, 160
Montana
5, 582, 196
3, 987, 568
423,524
403, 964
386, 840
101, 200
279, 100
Nevada
804, 507
112,973
585, 779
3,355
1,000
101 400
New Mexico
North Dakota...
3, 641, 063
944, 628
1, 606, 707
854, 814
613, 942
26, 630
722, 380
432, 275
30, 064
2,000
5 980
263, 759
27 140
Oregon
1, 539, 723
80,754
204,026
1 204 004
35 939
15 000
South Dakota
3, 730, 422
3, 514, 794
50, 493
36,240
128 895
Utah
401, 108
113, 179
178, 219
26,880
62 500
2 500
17 830
Washington
2, 110, 210
342, 587
337, 387
1, 396, 217
34,019
Wyoming
829, 440
193, 526
370, 205
125,000
3 600
800
136 309
All States.
i 43, 232, 603
20, 403, 118
8, 143, 410
6, 658, 700
4, 775, 202
117, 220
3,147,953
1 The total area of range available to domestic livestock on Indian lands in the West, as shown elsewhere
In this report, is 48,391,000 acres inclusive of small areas of waste range within the larger bodies of range
land. The acreage shown in this table is exclusive of public domain Indian allotments, small fenced tracts
within reservations, or other areas within Indian ownership which have not been classified as to forage type.
In the few instances where a reservation extends into two States it is listed here and in following tables with
the State in which the Indian agency is situated.
TABLE 53. Indian- and white-owned livestock on ranges, 1984
Ownership
Cattle
Horses
Sheep
Goats
Indian
Number
229 343
Number
134 863
Number
901 765
Number
215 566
White
227 460
24 943
671 933
Total
456 803
159 806
1 573 698
215 566
The Indian-owned livestock make use of the reservation range
for the yearlong period except when it is covered with snow. In
some localities, particularly on the northern reservations, supplemen-
tary feeding is practiced; but by far the larger percentage of the
Indian stock graze yearlong on the reservation ranges. The white-
owned stock generally is grazed under permits specifying the sea-
son of use, which varies from a few months of intensive summer
grazing to more moderate use over a longer period, depending on
the nature and location of the range. The Indian ranges on the
larger reservations are quite important sources of feed, and there
is ready demand for use by white-owned livestock of the forage not
needed for Indian livestock.
280 THE WESTERN RANGE
The present condition of the ranges varies widely in different
regions. The Indian range, lands in Oregon and Washington, ex-
cept for some minor localized injury due to faulty distribution of
stock, are in good condition. On the northern Great Plains reser-
vations, where the native sod of buffalo grass has been undisturbed
and the area used solely .for grazing, the ranges are also generally
in fair to good condition. Some futile attempts at dry farming
have destroyed the native vegetation, but it is estimated that some-
what less than 100,000 acres of plowed Indian land in the Plains
States should be returned to grass.
In the Southwest the situation is serious. Approximately one-
half of the total range lands in the Navajo, Hopi, and Papago coun-
try, particularly ? is seriously overstocked and presents a severely
overgrazed condition. Erosion by both wind and water has re-
moved and is still removing the fertile topsoil on hundreds of thou-
sands of acres. The condition of these ranges, in spite of the first
steps toward corrective measures which have been taken, is steadily
growing worse. The fine texture of the soil and the absence of sod-
forming vegetation, together with irregular torrential showers, cause
a heavy run-off which results in serious damage (90). Drastic ac-
tion toward livestock reduction and range rehabilitation will be nec-
essary on millions of acres before the Indian range lands of this
region are again capable of making their full contribution to the
welfare of the Indian owners or the Nation as a whole (161).
A survey of. western ranges made in 1935 indicates that the Indian
lands on the whole have been depleted approximately 51 percent of
virgin condition, and about 4 percent of the total usable range area
is extremely depleted, 54 percent is severely depleted, 36 percent is
materially depleted, and 6 percent of the range is only moderately
depleted. It is believed that in virgin condition these Indian ranges
had a grazing capacity at the rate of 4.2 acres for each animal-unit
month. The present carrying capacity is approximately 8.2 acres
per animal-unit month, although the ranges are now stocked at the
rate of about 6.0 acres per animal-unit month. Over the past 30
years the trend in condition has been downward on 75 percent of
the Indian ranges, and there has been improvement on about 10 per-
cent. During approximately the past 5 years the trend has been
downward on 63 percent, and there has been improvement on about
4 percent of the total range area.
ADMINISTRATION OF INDIAN RANGE
The record prior to the organization of the forestry unit in the
Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1910 does not indicate that any con-
siderable attention or systematic effort was given to the supervision
of Indian range lands, even though in 1891 the leasing of Indian
lands for grazing purposes was authorized by law. Indeterminate
numbers of livestock made seasonal or yearlong use of the range,
largely on a trespass basis, and the various efforts toward interesting
the Indians themselves in the livestock industry met with varying
degrees of success.
For 6 to 8 years after 1910 some attention was given to the range
situation in the Southwest by the forestry unit of the Indian Service.
CONSERVATION THE EXCEPTION 281
A system of range allocation was inaugurated, and fees were col-
lected for grazing privileges. This work was subsequently turned
over to the various reservation superintendents, and thereafter but
little real progress in range control was made. Some years later, but
prior to 1920, as forestry organizations were developed on the res-
ervations of the Northwest, the responsibility for the supervision of
grazing activities was gradually assumed on the more important
forested reservations of this region. Range lands were organized
into grazing units, a permit system with a definite control of the
number of stock and season of use was adopted, and an orderly pro-
gram of management was placed in effect (15 1, pp. 607-632). As a
result of the progress made in range administration on the reserva-
tions of the Northwest and of the growing recognition of the im-
portance of range conservation, the supervision of all grazing activi-
ties on Indian lands was delegated to the forestry branch in 1930.
A definite and systematic program of range management for ap-
plication on all reservations was initiated, directed toward the con-
servation and regulated use of range resources. To the extent allowed
by the funds available, a technically trained personnel has been de-
veloped for range administration. The objectives were definitely
stated in the grazing survey report previously cited, and were ap-
E roved by the Secretary of the Interior June 4, 1931. In abbreviated
arm, they are as follows :
1. The preservation of land, water, forest, and forage in a safe
and entire state.
2. The permanent welfare of the livestock industry generally and
the Indian livestock industry in particular.
3. The protection of the interests of the whole Indian people against
unfair competition by the more aggressive individuals.
4. The conservative utilization of all forage resources, primarily
through the development of the livestock industry among Indians,
and secondarily through the regulated sale of grazing privileges.
On the forested reservations of the Northwest these regulations
served to strengthen the plan of administration already in operation,
and but little modification of range-management practices was re-
quired. On other reservations used largely by white-owned stock
there was considerable opposition, both on the part of the Indians
as landlords (161) and the livestock operators as lessees, to the inau-
guration of this more positive system of range management.
Much more encouraging progress has been made on the ranges used
by white operators than on ranges used by the Indians themselves.
In the Southwest, although many thousands of sheep and goats have
been removed from the Navajo ranges and constant effort for further
improvement is steadily being made, progress toward sustained-yield
management has been relatively slow. An extension program directed
toward improving their knowledge and understanding of range man-
agement has been instituted among the Navajos as a part of the plan
for gradually reducing the number of stock on the overgrazed ranges.
The problem of the administration of Indian range lands, with its
many ramifications, has by no means been solved, but definite steps
toward sustained-yield management have been taken, and further
progress seems assured.
282 THE WESTERN RANGE
SPECIAL HANDICAPS IN ADMINISTRATION
LAND STATUS
The governmental policies which have been applied with respect
to Indian lands have resulted in a highly involved land status on
some of the reservations today which has greatly complicated man-
agement of the range resources. From colonial days until recently
the friends of the Indians, without exception, tried to lead, persuade,
or force them into the settled domestic mode of living which the
white man had developed and which has proved so satisfactory to
him. A permanent home instead of a nomadic life, a family group
instead of a tribal band, domestic livestock instead of wild game,
and individual instead of communal ownership of land, were con-
sidered to be necessary for the proper development of the Indian.
In carrying out these principles the Indians were encouraged
to make selections of land on their reservations and these selections
were then conveyed to them as allotments. When the Indians of a
reservation had each been allotted land for homemaking and tribal
reserves of timber and grazing grounds had been made, the surplus
lands were in many instances opened to homestead entry or disposed
of in other ways with the proceeds of disposal credited to the tribal
funds.
Many variations of this land program were applied on the numer-
ous reservations in the Northern States, and as a result much land
unsuited to individual development has been passed into private
ownership. In the Southwest, owing to the stronger communal
traits of the Indian people and the more obvious unsuitability of
the reservation land for use in small tracts, this land-disposal pro-
gram was not so generally applied.
As a result of the various land transactions within the boundaries
of many reservations there are five distinct classifications of land
ownership :
1. Ceded and^ alienated. Lands to which the Indian title has been
completely extinguished by Executive order, Federal purchase or
comparable governmental action.
2. Alienated allotments. Lands in homestead size tracts to which
patent in fee simple has been issued to individual Indians and
which may still remain in Indian ownership or may have been dis-
posed of to whites. Such lands are subject to taxation and sale and
are in every sense private property.
3. Ceded but unentered. Lands ceded by the tribe to the Federal
Government for disposal by the General Land Office. Indian title
will not be extinguished until homestead entry is approved and
proceeds paid into the tribal fund.
4. Trust allotments. Lands in homestead size tracts to which pat-
ents have been issued to individual Indians with restrictions as to
alienation or encumbrance.
5. Tribal. The undivided community-owned lands of the tribe.
The extent of holdings under the various status classes in 1931
were as follows :
CONSERVATION THE EXCEPTION 283
Acres
Ceded and alienated 10, 775, 263
Alienated allotments 3, 897, 012
Total__ 14, 672, 275
Ceded but unentered 1, 812, 205
Trust allotments 13, 539, 641
Tribal lands__ 30,051,979
Total 45, 403, 825
Grand total M 60, 076, 100
This highly involved and decentralized ownership of land, which
for purposes of effective and efficient range management should be
handled in large consolidated blocks, constitutes one of the most
trying problems of Indian range administration.
IKDIAN RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES
In addition to the intricately involved land status, there are sev-
eral other problems peculiar to the administration of Indian lands, all
deriving from the premise that "the least government is the best gov-
ernment" and that the Indians are entitled to a wide discretionary
latitude in the handling of their own property. Because of this
policy, Indians have not been prevented from grazing semiwild
and almost worthless ponies yearlong on seriously depleted spring
ranges. The desire to encourage the Indians in the ownership of
sheep and cattle to develop economic independence and habits of
industry has resulted in the minimum of restrictions on overgrazing,
poor distribution, and other bad range practices.
The importance of income from the grazing use of individual
allotments has been a further serious source of difficulty in range
administration. The right of each individual Indian to obtain the
highest possible current income from his property and the implied
responsibility of Indian Service employees to support this procedure
tended for years toward inadequate control of stocking and over-
use of the range. The consolidation of Indian allotments into range
units and the application of the permit system, accomplished under
the grazing regulations of June 4, 1931, have been of major impor-
tance in improving this situation.
WHEELER-HOWARD ACT
It is too early in the operation of the Wheeler-Howard Act (June
18j 1934) the most notable recent legislation with respect to Indian
affairs to make a conclusive appraisal of its ultimate effect on
Indian range lands. However, certain of its features are extremely
important in connection with range-land management.
The explanatory title of the act indicated its scope :
To conserve and develop Indian lands and resources ; to extend to Indians the
right to form business and other organizations; to establish a credit system
for Indians ; to grant certain rights of home rule to Indians ; to provide for
vocational education for Indians; and for other purposes.
83 This acreage includes all Indian lands in the United States and therefore does not
agree with the total acreage in the western range area.
284 THE WESTERN RANGE
The first four sections of the act deal with land status and owner-
ship and are directed toward restricting the further alienation of
Indian land to the irreducible minimum consistent with proper in-
heritance procedure. This will operate toward the stabilization
of the ownership of Indian land in its present status and, together
with the authorization for consolidation and acquisition contained
elsewhere in the act, should have a helpful influence in range
conservation.
Section 6, in which range management is specifically mentioned,
reads as follows :
The Secretary of the Interior is directed to make rules and regulations for
the operation and management of Indian forestry units on the principle of
sustained-yield management, to restrict the number of livestock grazed on
Indian range units to the estimated carrying capacity of such ranges, and
to promulgate such other rules and regulations as may be necessary to protect
the range from deterioration, to prevent soil erosion, to assure full utilization
of the range, and like purposes.
This section makes the protection of Indian range lands and the
application of sustained-yield management a definite mandatory
responsibility of the administrative organization, but, since in each
case of serious overgrazing on Indian lands the stock is owned by
the Indians themselves, a much more complex procedure is involved
than the mere modification or cancelation of a grazing permit. In
fact, it would seem to involve a modification of lifelong habits and
customs and the substitution of some other means of procuring a
livelihood for a large percentage of the Indian population in the
Southwest. Social and economic development must go hand in hand
with the application of the conservation features of the Wheeler-
Howard Act. If so, in the ultimate application of these conserva-
tion features, the Indians themselves as well as the Indian ranges
will be greatly benefited.
PROBLEMS
The variation from time to time in the social aims and objectives
of Indian guardianship by the Federal Government, the peculiar
desires and habits of the Indian himself, the complicated pattern of
land status within the reservations, and the failure for a long time
on the part of administrative agencies to recognize that conservation
and sustained yield of the range resources are fundamental to the
future social and economic development of the Indian have resulted
in a variegated pattern of accomplishment in conservation of the
Indian-range resources. There has been severe depletion of the
range forage, especially in the Southwest. On the forested reserva-
tions of the Northwest where the forestry unit of the Indian Service
assumed responsibility for the supervision of grazing activities prior
to 1920, the ranges are in reasonably good condition. Finally in
1930 the supervision of all grazing activities on Indian lands was
delegated to the forestry unit and a positive program of range con-
servation was started. The many problems have by no means been
solved but sustained-yield management has now been initiated and
further progress seems assured.
Among the more important problems still to be dealt with are:
Further reduction in numbers of livestock on many of the reserva-
CONSERVATION THE EXCEPTION
285
tions and especially in the Southwest; the development of more
adequate range-management plans; the installation of needed range
improvements, range reseeding, and control of soil erosion; insofar
as possible, the readjustment of the complicated status of land owner-
ship inside the reservations; and improving the knowledge and
understanding on the part of the Indian of the importance of range
conservation and how to accomplish it.
THE GRAZING DISTRICTS
Approximately 162 million acres of unreserved unappropriated
public domain remained in the United States on June 30, 1934 prac-
tically all of it in the 11 Western States. This is the last "picked'
over" remnant of the once vast acreage of free public land, which
except for 65 million acres now being organized for administration
under the Grazing Act is a no man's land so far as conservation
and orderly use of its resources are concerned. In addition, there
also were on June 30, 1934, approximately 29 million acres of other
Federal land in withdrawals for reclamation, preservation of oil, oil
shale, coal, and minerals, and for other special purposes which, so
far as grazing is concerned, is in the same status as the remaining
unreserved public domain. The grazable range area involved is
approximately 60,567,000 acres in the grazing districts, 67,224,000
acres in the unreserved public domain, and 22,996,000 acres of other
Federal lands. The forage resources on this land including that in
grazing districts as shown in table 54 have been depleted approxi-
mately 66 percent as compared to virgin condition and the soil and
watershed values have been greatly impaired. The use of the land
for wildlife conservation has been greatly reduced. The lack of
regulation has led to serious social and economic maladjustments.
Although the need for regulation to conserve and wisely use these
resources has been recognized for many years and efforts to obtain
action have been aggressively urged since late in the last century,
nothing was done about it until recently. In June 1934 the Grazing
Act was passed, but only after opposition which forced amend-
ments that greatly lessened its value as an instrument for the solution
of one of the Nation's major conservation problems.
TABLE 54. Degree of depletion of virgin range in plant types on the combined
usable range area of grazing districts, unreserved public domain, and minor
Federal reservations
Plant type
Total
area ]
Moderate
depletion
(0-25
percent)
Material
depletion
(26-50
percent)
Severe
depletion
(51-75
percent)
Extreme
depletion
(76-100
percent)
Average
depletion
Tall grass
1,000 acres
147
Percent
100
Percent
Percent
Percent
Percent
12
Short grass ..
12, 925
6
44
48
2
49
Pacific bunchgrass
2 552
21
48
31
ce
Semidesert grass . .
10, 420
1
24
59
16
60
Sagebrush-grass
49 384
1
10
52
37
fiQ
Southern desert shrub
Salt-desert shrub
7,954
32, 657
17
10
62
43
21
47
64
72
Pi non-juniper
26 863
2
g
39
51
Tfc
Woodland-chaparral
1,813
47
53
51'
Open forests
6,074
11
26
49
14
Total or average
150 789
2
15
48
OE
Includes acres of usable range closed to grazing for various purposes.
286 THE WESTERN RANGE
FAVORABLE FEATURES OF THE GRAZING ACT
The title of the Grazing Act lists as its purposes :
To stop injury to the public grazing lands by preventing overgrazing and soil
deterioration ; to provide for their orderly use, improvement, and development ;
to stabilize the livestock industry dependent upon the public range; and for
other purposes.
The Secretary of the Interior is authorized, in his discretion, to
establish grazing districts, aggregating not to exceed 80 million acres,
out of the vacant, unappropriated and unreserved lands of the conti-
nental United States, exclusive of Alaska. The objects of the graz-
ing districts are stated to be "to regulate their occupancy and use,
to preserve the land and its resources from destruction or unnecessary
injury, to provide for the orderly use, improvement, and develpp-
merit of the range." The Secretary is directed to "make provision
for the protection, administration, regulation and improvement of
such grazing districts as may be created, * * *" and to "make
such rules and regulations and establish such service, enter into such
cooperative agreements, and do any and all things necessary" to
accomplish the purposes of the act and to insure the objects of the
grazing districts, and is authorized "to perform such work as may
be necessary amply to protect and rehabilitate" the grazing districts.
The Secretary is further directed to "specify from time to time the
number of livestock that shall graze within a district and the seasons
when a district shall be used for grazing" and to fix or determine
reasonable fees for the use of the range.
It would appear to be clear from the foregoing provisions that
the Secretary of the Interior has broad discretionary power to do
whatever is necessary, subject to appropriations for such purposes, to
perfect administrative machinery, establish necessary rules and regu-
lations, construct range improvements, regulate the use, and do what-
ever else is necessary to stop injury from overgrazing and to conserve
all the resources on the public lands set aside as grazing districts.
The act also provides for the exchange of State or privately owned
land within a grazing district for public land on the basis of equal
value. Thus opportunity is afforded to clear up situations where
intermingled privately owned or State lands otherwise would com-
plicate administration.
The grazing districts are closed to homestead entry except tracts
which are classified by the Secretary of the Interior as more valuable
for farm crops than for native forage plants. Supplemental to the
Grazing Act, all of the remaining unreserved unappropriated public
domain has been withdrawn from entry under the nonmineral land
laws pending classification. Consequently, until the Executive with-
drawal is modified, public-domain lands are no longer subject to
disposal under the homestead laws.
SHORTCOMINGS OF THE GRAZING ACT
Accomplishment of the purposes and objects of the Grazing Act
may be greatly hampered or even defeated by certain weaknesses in
the" law. The act contains several restrictive clauses; others are
ambiguous or conflicting and will require interpretation in the courts
before a clear understanding is possible. At least, until these clauses
CONSERVATION THE EXCEPTION 287
are judicially construed, contentions and differences of opinion will
handicap the making of administrative decisions and will impede, if
not prevent, real accomplishment in conservation and use of the
resources. Much will depend also upon the policies for administra-
tion which are adopted under the broad discretionary powers dele-
gated by the act. A clause in the opening sentence, "pending its final
disposal", weakens the structure of the whole act. It implies that
administration is only temporary and discourages far-sighted aims
and objectives and initiation of the kind of action essential to the
proper protection and conservation of the resources. It appears to
make clear that the intent of the act is to dispose of these lands in
the reasonably near future. The whole history and experience with
this land has been that it is unsuited to private ownership and should
remain in the jurisdiction of some public agency financially and
administratively qualified to cope with the problems of management.
The maximum of 80 million acres authorized to be included in
grazing districts is only approximately one-half the public land
needing attention. At best, therefore, the present problem is only
half met.
RELATED EESOUECES NOT RECOGNIZED
No specific provision is made for the protection of watershed values
in order to control the menacing erosion or reduce the serious floods
which originate on this land, beyond that which may be accomplished
by revegetation and improvement for grazing purposes, or for the
development and use of the other resources more especially game,
wood, and recreation. On the other hand, the act is so explicit
throughout with reference to use and development of the land for
the grazing of livestock that there is bound to be strong and per-
sistent contention that the act is designed wholly for the welfare of
the livestock growers, or at least is so colored that great difficulty
will be encountered in interpreting it otherwise. If the task involvecl
no more than restoring the meager grazing resources, it might be
argued that the land had better be abandoned without attempting
conservation. But this land cannot be written off the books and dis-
carded like a worn-out piece of machinery. Depletion has brought
excessive run-off and water or wind erosion almost everywhere.
Fully 50 percent of the usable range land comprises parts of water-
sheds or is otherwise so situated that floods and silt are destructive
to power and irrigation development and to adjoining land, and are
making increasingly difficult the maintenance of highways and rail-
roads across this vast domain. The breeding, on depleted public
domain range lands adjoining agricultural sections, of insects in-
jurious to farm crops promises to become a serious problem unless
the present host plants, which have come in as the result of over-
grazing, are replaced. These various consequences extend to areas
and values far beyond the limits of the land itself.
The grazing-district lands, in addition to producing forage for
domestic livestock, afford other important possibilities of use. They
constitute the natural feeding place or breeding grounds, or both, for
various species of game animals and birds. Some areas support
woodland or forests which are an important source of fuel and build-
ing material for local use. Still other parts have high potential
288 THE WESTERN RANGE
value for outdoor recreation and the human enjoyment of desert
flora, geologic forms, and scenery.
In order to realize the maximum contribution to local communi-
ties and the general public welfare, there should be correlated use,
protection, and development of all of the resources on the grazing
districts so as to obtain the highest net benefit from all combined,
in accordance with actual present and probable future needs. Per-
haps this can be accomplished under the broad authority conferred
upon the Secretary of the Interior.
LIMITATIONS ON TRANSFERS OF LAND FROM GRAZING DISTRICTS TO NATIONAL FORESTS
The act provides for the transfer of any lands within national
forests chiefly valuable for grazing which can best be administered
as grazing districts. There are several million acres of land now in
national forests which perhaps might be administered under either
the act of June 4, 1897, governing the national forests, or the Graz-
ing Act of June 28, 1934. However, since the Grazing Act greatly
restricts action to conserve and wisely use the resources of the land,
certainly no good purpose could be served by placing in the grazing
districts land now under national-forest status, which has been ef-
fectively and satisfactorily administered for a c[aurter of a century.
Moreover, the Grazing Act should have provided for the transfer
of any lands in grazing districts or the open public domain which
adjoin and form integral parts of timber bodies, watersheds, and
range units largely within national forests. 84
There are approximately 26 million acres of forest range land
in the unreserved public domain and grazing districts in the Western
States which should be added to the national forests in order to
simplify administration, and devote the lands to the purposes for
which they are chiefly valuable. It would also be possible for users
of a single economic unit, now divided under two Federal jurisdic-
tions, to deal with a single administrative agency. This would still
leave approximately 1,000,000 acres of isolated tracts of forest range
land for administration under the Grazing Act.
LIBEEAL SALE OR LEASE OF ISOLATED TRACTS OF PUBLIC LAND
Scattered practically throughout the more solid blocks of privately
owned range land in the West are isolated tracts of public land of
a few to several thousand acres in area, aggregating upward of 10
million acres or more, which cannot readily be administered as parts
of grazing districts. Most of them are submarginal for private
ownership, or title long since would have passed.
The Grazing Act provides for the leasing of such isolated or dis-
connected tracts or parcels of 640 acres or more in area to owners of
contiguous lands, under such terms and conditions as the Secretary
may prescribe. It also provides that such tracts, not exceeding 760
acres in area, may be sold at public auction when in the judgment
of the Secretary of the Interior it is proper to do so. Still another
provision in the act authorizes the sale of legal subdivisions of
public land not exceeding 160 acres unsuited to cultivation, to own-
84 Utah, South Dakota, and Nevada are the only . States where, at present, national
forests may be created or enlarged by Executive order.
CONSERVATION THE EXCEPTION 289
ers of adjoining land regardless of whether the tract is or is not
isolated or disconnected. These provisions in the act may be admin-
istered so as to safeguard the public interest. On the other hand,
if administered in accordance with the past policies and traditions
of land disposal in the United States, they may become an effective
means of defeating the purposes of the Grazing Act, jeopardizing
the public interest on several million acres of public land, besides
adding to the present excessive burden of private ownership of
range land.
Within the limits of the railroad land grants, for example, where
the odd-numbered sections are alienated, the alternate sections, the
large majority of which in many localities still belong to the Gov-
ernment, are isolated tracts within the meaning of the law. In
Nevada the odd-numbered sections in a strip approximately 320
miles long and 40 miles wide were granted to a railroad company
and most of the even-numbered sections still belong to the Govern-
ment. If leased to the railroad companies, which are the owners
of the contiguous land, it would be physically almost impossible
to enforce requirements to protect the range and prevent overgrazing
of the intermingled public land. The control would largely be in
the hands of the present owners or lessees.
FUNCTIONS OF RANGE CTTETAILED
The grazing-district land in the main is basically unfitted for
development and use independent of lands in other forms of owner-
ship or control. This public range is needed primarily to supple-
ment tilled forage-crop lands and range lands in other forms of
ownership and^control to the end that satisfactory rounded-out op-
erating units involving all classes of agricultural land will be
achieved. Accomplishment of this aim is complicated by the highly
unsocial and uneconomic land-use situation which has developed
under the inadequate land-disposal policy of the past. Under the
system of economic and physical competition which has existed on
the open public domain, the more aggressive stockmen in numerous
instances have been able to crowd out their weaker neighbors and
to monopolize the watering holes and better areas of range.
For example, in one Western State having a large acreage of un-
regulated range, past practice has permitted the larger livestock
interests to acquire from the State land and water which might have
been used to better advantage in production of cultivated forage
crops to supplement the public range. This land they have utilized
chiefly for the inefficient production of wild hay and to control large
areas of public range to the exclusion of diversified agriculture.
In 1916 one writer (6) stated, "Instead of numerous small farms
cultivated by their owners, we see great land holdings owned largely
by corporations and managed in such a way as to create conditions
unfavorable to the welfare of the laborers and the public." The
situation has changed but little since that time. To bring about the
needed adjustments in land use and ownership involves the applica-
tion of sound forward-looking social and economic principles in
the administration of the Grazing Act.
6494636 20
290 THE WESTERN RANGE
In this connection, with reference to the issuance of permits for
the grazing of livestock, the act provides that :
Preference shall be given * * * to those within or near a district who
are landowners engaged in the livestock business, bona-fide occupants or
settlers, or owners of water or water rights, as may be necessary to permit
the proper use of lands, water or water rights owned, occupied, or leased
by them. * * *
To the extent that this clause provides for such an integration of
public lands with other grazing and forage-crop lands of a locality
as will result in the highest use of all the land, it specifies a highly
desirable objective. However, to attach the grazing privilege to the
land, water, or water rights in a manner to permit their "proper
use" regardless of all other circumstances would result in dividing
the available public-range resource and attaching it in proportional
quantities to all of the owned land or water with which it might
properly be used. To do so would perpetuate and enhance existing
monopolies in land use which have been established in many in-
stances by the stronger individuals taking advantage of their weaker
neighbors.
Take, for example, a locality where neighboring small settlers
and large-sized livestock outfits, each owning or leasing land and
water in equal proportion to the number of livestock they own, all
use in common a public range having insufficient grazing capacity
properly to use all of the land and water owned or leased by them ;
the small operators under such conditions and under a possible in-
terpretation of the law would be required to reduce their number of
livestock in the same ratio as the large operators, regardless if to
do so would impoverish the small operators ; it would be impossible
under such circumstances to impose proportionally heavier reduc-
tions on the larger outfits in favor of the small settlers in order that
the latter might continue to maintain their standard of living from
the land and livestock. In other words, the act appears 1 to give
preference to existing property rights rather than to human needs
in the distribution of public benefits.
In Nevada where most of the springs and streams are held by
the ownership of small tracts of privately owned land or under the
livestock-water law of that State, this clause in the Grazing Act
might be construed as granting to such holders the use of all the
surrounding public range land that might be necessary to permit the
proper use of the available water. In that event, the old practice of
controlling large areas of public domain by the ownership of a few
acres of land strategically located, would be confirmed by law.
The use of public range in connection with leased land or water,
is theoretically commendable to the extent that it would help the
small owner to enlarge his grazing preference and in that manner
improve his standard of living. But this also is a double-edged
sword. The larger resident operator or transient stockman fre-
quently is the stronger competitor and higher bidder for lands
offered for lease. Moreover leasing gives the absentee property
owner benefits which more properly should be given to local residents
who need them to maintain permanent homes in the locality where
the public range is situated. Therefore, it appears not to be in the
interest of improving local social conditions to give equal considera-
tion to leased and owned land in distributing public-range privileges.
CONSERVATION THE EXCEPTION 291
DANGEE OF RANGE EIGHTS BECOMING ESTABLISHED
Several provisions of the Grazing Act contain language which
might be construed as a grant to favorably situated stockmen of
indefeasible rights and privileges in the use of forage and related
resources on grazing-district lands, even though the exercise of these
rights and privileges prevents an equitable allotment of such re-
sources. For example, section 1 contains the following provision:
Nothing in this act shall be construed in any way to diminish, restrict, or
impair any right which has been heretofore or may be hereafter initiated
under existing law validly affecting the public lands, and which is maintained
pursuant to such law except as otherwise expressly provided in this act * * *
At the end of section 3 it is further provided that
So far as consistent with the purposes and provisions of this act, grazing
privileges recognized and acknowledged shall be adequately safeguarded, but
the creation of the grazing district or the issuance of a permit pursuant to
the provisions of this act shall not create any right, title, interest, or estate in
or to the lands.
While persons hitherto using the range involved did so under a
sort of implied license without acquiring a vested right thereto, the
provisions of the act quoted above, although aimed to deny the crea-
tion of right in the land itself, imply a right of user amounting to a
property right which the Secretary of the Interior cannot disturb.
Should it be so construed, his administrative control of such land as
elsewhere provided in the act would be seriously hampered, if not
defeated, and he would therefore be compelled to suffer a continua-
tion of present conditions regardless of what the public interest
might require in bringing about properly regulated management.
There can be no doubt as to the intent of that part of section 3
reading as follows:
* * * except that no permittee complying with the rules and regula-
tions laid down by the Secretary of the Interior shall be denied the renewal
of such permit, if such denial will impair the value of the grazing unit of
the permittee, when such unit is pledged as security for any bona-fide loan.
Obviously the limitation placed on the powers of the Secretary
of the Interior by this provision may be used by permittees mate-
rially to restrict, if not wholly to defeat, adjustments in range use
that are necessary if grazing privileges are to be equitably dis-
tributed in the interest of home and community development or for
the purpose of improving and protecting the range. There are
very few livestock or ranch properties which do not continuously
constitute security for a loan, the value of which would be impaired
in varying degrees by denying the owner a renewal in full of his
permit. This provision discriminates against the owner who hap-
pens to be free of debt when he applies for a renewal and most
important makes it possible for any permittee to continue his exclu-
sive use of the range and obtain other undue advantages by simply
using his livestock and ranch property as security for a loan, the
amount of such loan apparently being immaterial. In short this
provision enables permittees very easily to perpetuate their monoply
regardless of how adversely such perpetuation affects the interests
of the community and the general public.
The dangers involved in the establishment of rights in public
resources is illustrated by the accumulated experience of Europe
There the public interest has suffered in three ways: Large
292 THE WESTERN KANGE
areas of forest, both public and private, have been needlessly de-
stroyed or severely damaged; the progress of agriculture has been
held back by the perpetuation of uneconomical land use and stock-
raising methods; and the rights themselves have been the source of
much wasteful litigation and ill feeling. Despite the struggle going
back over several centuries to extinguish these rights, many are still
in existence. About the only way the situation can be met is by
outright purchase and then only where the holder agrees to the bar-
gain, except when there is cause to exercise the right of eminent
domain. There is grave danger that the safeguarding of privileges
to use public domain as set forth in the Grazing Act at the present
time, if allowed to remain will eventually become more securely fixed
by right of long usage.
In the United States, the fixing of rights to use the range is seen
to have highly undesirable features at the present moment, but it
may become a more serious menace in the future. Vested rights in
Europe originated when forests were abundant and pasturage was
scarce, and under such circumstances damage to the forest was of
less import. With time the situation was reversed and grazing
rights have become a real handicap to meeting the needs for timber.
A similar reversal of conditions may develop in this country. As
the needs for protection and use of the land for watershed purposes,
game, and recreation multiply, the fixing of rights on the grazing
districts will seriously interfere with these purposes. Quite as im-
portant also is the lessening by fixing of rights of the opportunity to
correct the uneconomical land use which has grown up in the West.
COMPLICATIONS WITH STATE LAWS
If the States fully exercise the jurisdiction expressly conferred on
them by two provisions of the act, the Federal Government may find,
it impossible to administer grazing districts in an effective manner.
The first of these provisions is found in section 1 and provides that
nothing in the act shall be construed in any way "as limiting or
restricting the power or authority of any State as to matters within
its jurisdiction." The other is contained in section 16, which reads
as follows:
SBO. 16. Nothing in this Act shall be construed as restricting the respective
States from enforcing any and all statutes enacted for police regulation, nor
shall the police power of the respective States be, by this Act, impaired or
restricted, and all laws heretofore enacted by the respective States or any
thereof, or that may hereafter be enacted as regards public health or public
welfare, shall at all times be in full force and effect : Provided, however, That
nothing in this section shall be construed as limiting or restricting the power
and authority of the United States.
These two provisions are ambiguous and might be construed to
mean that existing and future State laws will apply to grazing dis-
tricts established under the Grazing Act and will prevail over any
conflicting or inconsistent regulation of the Secretary of the In-
terior. If so construed, regulatory control over these districts thus
in large measure would be turned over to the several States and the
authority of the Secretary of the Interior would be so limited that
he could not take any action with respect to the grazing districts
CONSERVATION THE EXCEPTION 293
which conflicts with State law, particularly if the proviso at the
end of section 16 is strictly construed. However, since the legisla-
tive intent reflected in this section and in the last sentence of section
3 is not clear, it is not yet possible to determine accurately how such
provisions will be interpreted. Therein lies one of the major difficul-
ties of the act. Many parts are so ambiguous and so conflicting
that controversies are bound to occur until such time as the act has
had judicial interpretation.
EANGE ADMINISTRATION BY STOCKMEN
Obviously much will depend upon the kind of administration
developed under the broad provisions of the act with respect to
meeting the needs both of those dependent upon the range and the
broader public interest. Section 9 stipulates that the Secretary of
the Interior "shall provide, by suitable rules and regulations, for
cooperation with local associations of stockmen, State land officials,
and official State agencies engaged in conservation or propagation
of wildlife interested in the use of the grazing district." This pro-
vision is a favorable feature, resembling that adopted under rules
and regulations applying to the administration of grazing on the
national forests, in that it recognizes the desirability of giving the
user an advisory voice in local affairs and induces voluntary in-
terest in the range. Whether or not it should be made the main
instrument of administration seems doubtful.
Rules have been adopted by the Department of the Interior speci-
fying the procedure under this clause which provide for the selec-
tion of stockmen representatives 35 for all grazing districts and for
wildlife and recreational representatives in one of the western;
States, New Mexico. 36 In commenting on the procedure for selecting
stockmen representatives, the Annual Report of the Secretary of the
Interior for the fiscal year ending Jane 30, 1935 (p. 16), states as
follows :
* * * the Cervices of local persons familiar with the range problems will
be secured by a special election of district advisors from among local stock-
men. * * * By this means the practical local viewpoint will be available at
all times in the administration of the law. * * * They will take the regular
oath of office of a Federal official and will be the local governing agency as to
all matters of range regulatory nature concerning their particular district.
The Interior Department will exercise necessary supervision and provide basic
technical criteria for conservation of natural resources.
This no doubt is an indication of the intended form of administra-
tion. It places the large balance of power in the hands of the live-
stock interests and leaves to the Government representatives the
mere exercise of supervision and to "provide basic technical criteria"
for use by the stockmen.
To grant to the stockmen the major controlling power in the
administration of the grazing districts implies that they will exer-
cise the necessary self-restraint and denial in immediate use and
misuse for the sake of the permanence of the range, something rarely
United States Department of the Interior, Division of Grazing. Rules Providing for
Special Elections for District Advisors to Assist in Management of Grazing Districts.
U. S. Dept. Int., Dept. Grazing Circ. 1, 5 pp. 1935. [Multigraphed.]
86 United States Department of the Interior, Division of Grazing. Special Rules for
Grazing Districts in New Mexico. U. S. Dept. Int., Dept. Grazing Circ. 3, 2 pp. 1935.
[Multigraphed.]
294 THE WESTERN RANGE
exercised on their own lands. Conservation of the resources requires
a large fund of technical knowledge of a difficult problem and cash
outlays to restore productivity. It involves a high degree of public
spirit to forego range use and the denial of personal profit in order
to realize on public values in watershed protection and game con-
servation, which may be considered by the individual stockman to
be of little if any direct benefit to him. There must be cooperative-
ness in an unusually high degree to prevent individuals holding posi-
tions of power from using them to their own immediate advantage.
All these are the very antithesis of the doctrine of laissez f aire which
has resulted in the present condition, not only of the grazing-district
range itself but of the bulk of the area of privately owned and State
lands throughout the West.
What is needed, in addition to the cooperation of all classes of
users and full opportunity to express their voice in an advisory
capacity, is a well-planned, closely knit, positive administration with
adequate technical skill which will give full consideration to the
broader community, State, and interstate public interest as well as
to the local livestock industry.
The problem of stopping damage and restoring the grazing capac-
ity of the grazing districts is highly difficult and technical, because
of the serious depletion, adverse soil and climatic conditions, and low
Eroductivity. It will involve heavy reductions in the numbers of
vestock grazed and management from more than a short-sighted
viewpoint. Other essentials are the protection of watersheds, con-
servation of game, and the development of the use of the resources
other than livestock forage. Still another of the big tasks is to
bring about the proper integration of use of the grazing-district land
with other agricultural lands both inside and adjoining the grazing
district, and to place the capacity of the land to support dependent
populations ahead of large profits for a relatively few; problems
having broad public aspects. It is doubtful whether these functions
will be exercised under a system of administration of self -regulation
by the stockmen who use the range.
Finally the Grazing Act sets up an agency in the Department of the
Interior to deal with agricultural problems, whereas practically all
other agricultural functions of the Federal Government, including
administration of the national-forest ranges, are grouped in the De-
partment of Agriculture. Another problem therefore is that of
how best to unify responsibility for range administration in a single
department of the Government.
CONSERVATION ON PRIVATELY OWNED RANGE
Approximately 51 percent of all western range lands are in private
ownership. According to estimates based on the best available in-
formation as shown in table 54a only 12 percent of this land has
been maintained or restored to within 25 percent of its virgin condi-
tion. The least depletion is found in the tall-grass and open-forest
types ; only approximately 5 percent of the total area of all the other
types is in the moderate depletion class. Among the factors which
have contributed to depletion, as pointed out in earlier sections of
this report, are excessive stocking or other rule-of -thumb manage-
ment, lack of legislation that permitted acquisition of land in units
CONSEEVATION THE EXCEPTION
295
best suited to proper use of land for range-livestock production, un-
sound financing, high interest, heavy taxation, poor marketing facil-
ities, competition that compelled excessive ownership of land and
inflation of land values, and other conditions some of which the
private landowner has been unable to control The privately owned
range lands which are in the better condition class today are of
especial interest in developing a program for the solution of western
range problems,
TABLE 54a. Degree of depletion of virgin range try plant types on privately
owned lands
Proportion of total ownership
Plant type
Area
Mod-
erate
deple-
tion
(0-25
Mate-
rial
deple-
tion
(26-50
Severe
deple-
tion
(51-75
Ex-
treme
deple-
tion
(76-100
Aver-
age de-
gree of
deple-
tion
per-
cent)
per-
cent)
cent)
per-
cent)
Thousand
acres
Percent
Percent
Percent
Percent
Percent
Tall grass
17,271
72
24
4
22
Short grass
148, 144
8
47
28
17
51
Pacific bunchgrass
35, 913
8
38
50
4
50
Semidesert grass
48, 425
34 791
3
3
30
6
63
46
4
45
54
71
Sagebrush-grass
Southern desert shrub
10, 643
22
52
26
63
Salt-desert shrub
5 251
1
3
45
51
74
Pinon-juniper
20, 900
8
30
42
20
56
Woodland-chaparral
10, 640
43,568
1
28
45
46
52
21
2
5
51
38
Open forest
All types
375. 546
12
37
36
15
51
The privately owned range lands which are exceptions to the more
prevalent condition of serious depletion may be classified into four
groups. These are (1) isolated cases of individual ranges in good
condition within areas where, because of the prevalence of unfavor-
able natural factors, the general situation is one of depletion; (2)
ranches or groups of ranches within regions where natural and other
factors are more or less favorable, as in parts of the Great Plains;
(3) ranges in areas where natural conditions practically dictate the
continuous practice of range-conservation measures, as in the sand-
hills region of Nebraska, and (4) on privately owned lands in and
adjacent to the national forests. These privately owned ranch lands
in good condition have never received the thorough study they re-
quire in order to set forth with finality the contributing factors.
This analysis, therefore, must be based on general knowledge and
information. However, the results from a few examples are indic-
ative.
WEST OF THE GREAT PLAINS
With few exceptions natural conditions west of the Great Plains
render difficult the conservation of the range. The rainfall is low
and often poorly distributed and droughts are frequent. Few of
the native plant species or types are highly resistant to grazing
and the grazing capacity is naturally low. 'The soil on extensive
areas is easily damaged by trampling. The composition and char-
296 THE WESTERN RANGE
acter of the vegetation is such that damage to the range may occur
long before it forces a reduction in the number of stock being grazed.
The lack of control on the extensive open public domain has often
caused pressure to overuse privately owned land. These are only a
few of the adverse factors with which the private owner has had
to deal. In spite of this general situation there are scattered ranch
lands in good condition where the owners have successfully con-
served the range.
Two or three range units on Kolob Mountain in southwestern
Utah, for example, have been maintained in good condition as con-
trasted with severely depleted holdings adjoining them. The own-
ers of the good ranges purchased their lands a good many years ago
at relatively low prices and thus have escaped excessive interest
charges on land indebtedness. They have stocked their ranges con-
servatively and the original cover of snowberry, mountain brome-
grass, weeds, and other plants carry sheep through the summer
season at the rate of two-thirds of an acre for each animal for each
month. This is approximately a one-third higher grazing capacity
than on some of the adjoining ranges, which have been overstocked.
In the whole State of Utah there are perhaps a dozen such well-
cared-for private ranges.
In Idaho at least one wool growers' association has done a credit-
able job of forage maintenance on most of its spring-fall range, a
large part of which is leased from the State. The association has
adopted rules limiting the number of stock to be grazed and the
seasons of use, and practices deferred and rotation grazing. The
enterprise has been handled under the guidance of one or two pro-
gressive stockmen who have foreseen the value of sustained-yield
range management. The net result of these factors is that the range
is far above average in condition.
In California a number of ranches are used continuously for
range some for over 50 years on the basis of sustained yield of
forage. Seasonal deferred and rotation grazing has been prac-
ticed. Distribution of stock has been improved by fencing and
water developments. One ranch in Marin County once badly de-
pleted has been brought virtually to its pristine condition. A strict
type of deferred grazing was followed. The unit was well balanced,
and the operator devoted all of his time to his ranching business.
In Humboldt County, Calif., a 40,000-acre ranch, used for live-
stock production for 50 years, still supports a maximum stand of
California oatgrass. The area is an economic and balanced unit.
The operator has been careful not to overgraze and has practiced
deferred grazing. He has not expanded speculatively.
An old Spanish land grant in Colorado is now being managed
under deferred and rotation methods of grazing, and stocked con-
servatively so as to restore the original carrying capacity that was
seriously depleted by former lessees.
The reasons for the individual cases of privately owned ranges
in good condition west of the Great Plains, which represent prob-
ably less than 5 percent of all range lands in private ownership
in that area exclusive of those in and adjacent to the national forests,
may be summarized as follows: (1) Reasonable cost of range land,
either purchase cost or rental ; (2) well-rounded-out operating units ;
CONSERVATION THE EXCEPTION 297
(3) close personal attention to use of the range; (4) the application
of some of the fundamental principles of range management; and,
(5) most important of all, an appreciation that conservative use
of the range to maintain yield of forage is the foundation to sus-
tained livestock production.
THE GREAT PLAINS
In the Great Plains short-grass type naturally favorable factors
have contributed much to the 8 percent of privately owned range in
that type that is in good condition. Within this region rainfall is
15 to 20 inches and a relatively larger proportion of it falls during
the growing season than further west. The dominant vegetation
over large areas is grama, buffalo, western wheatgrass, sedges, and
other sod-forming species which are relatively resistant to graz-
ing, trampling, and drought, and recover quickly from set-backs if
given reasonable opportunity, as compared with the bunch grasses
and other species which occur in many western range plant types.
The land, on the whole, is flat to rolling, and watering places may
be developed relatively cheaply factors which favor good distribu-
tion of livestock on the range. In many localities these favorable
factors are offset in some degree by light soils which are low in
productivity or are easily damaged by trampling. Prudent man-
agement also has contributed to the ranges which are in good con-
dition in the Plains region, but on the whole the more favorable
natural factors have been the dominating influence.
Sarvis (119) has found in his work at the northern Great Plains
field station near Mandan, N. Dak., that under a very heavy stocking
of one steer to 5 acres as compared to a proper stocking of one
steer to 7 acres during the same grazing season the decline in range
takes place very slowly and that after 19 years the grazing capacity
had declined only 46 percent on the overgrazed range. His studies
show that due to the recuperative capacity of the grasses almost
complete recovery took place where all of the grasses had not been
destroyed, in 1 or 2 years of average or better rainfall with com-
plete rest or moderate to light use. He reported very marked im-
provement during 1935 on extensive areas of privately owned land
in western North and South Dakota following the almost complete
removal of livestock on account of the 1934 drought.
Sarvis' studies and Hurtt's (76) in Montana both show that cattle
do not make as good gains on overstocked as compared to properly
stocked range. In other words, overuse of the range in the Great
Plains is quickly reflected in the condition of livestock a reversal
of the situation on many range lands further west which encour-
ages more conservative stocking when the aim is to obtain maximum
weights of animals at marketing time.
The Pumpkin Creek-Mizpah grazing district in Montana is an ex-
ample of the improvement in range lands obtainable where favorable
natural conditions are coupled with the practice of range manage-
ment by progressive stockmen. Although conditions are not as
favorable here, as on many other parts of the Great Plains, the com-
bination of good rainfall distribution, soil, and character of vegeta-
tion is better for maintenance of the range than where bunch grass
298 THE WESTERN RANGE
is the chief forage. The present association range of approximately
100,000 acres grew out of a desire of the users of the area to solve
an almost impossible land-ownership pattern which had grown out
of the past land policy and to stabilize the cost of range feed.
Forty-one percent of the area was railroad grant lands, 25 percent
open public domain, 6 percent State, and 28 percent privately owned
land in small tracts. The major object of the legislation establishing
the grazing district was to coordinate all of these ownerships into an
integral unit of range land. The key to control was the public
domain, which under the permissive policy of the Government was
open to use by all and subject to regulation by none. The 75 percent
of non-Federal lands represented most of the grazing capacity within
the area.
The act authorizing the withdrawal of the public domain con-
tained an important section providing for cooperation between all
interested agencies and landowners. Coordination was effected
through organization of the users into an association which leased
the railroad land, exchanged the State land for Government land,
leased or offered to lease the small privately owned tracts, and pur-
chased the tax-delinquent lands. The entire acreage was pooled so
that it could be managed and administered as a community range.
Regulations for the administration and government of the area,
adapted from those in effect on the national forest ranges, were
framed by the association and approved by the Secretary of the Inte-
rior. They included the permit system, fees based upon the estab-
lished rate per head as determined by the annual expenses of the
association, allocation of use according to dependence of individual
owners upon the range in order properly to utilize their owned range
and crop Land. An inventory of the range resources following For-
est Service methods was made for use as a base in determining graz-
ing capacity and a plan of management.
The plan of local administration and management has operated
well, and persons familiar with the area report that the range has
improved. Thus the naturally favorable factors, solution of an
unsatisfactory mosaic of land ownership, the desire of a small group
of stockmen with common interests to bind themselves together, and
the adoption of simple principles of range movement applicable to
the prevailing conditions have resulted in benefits to the whole
community.
In the flint hills of Kansas and Osage hills of Oklahoma natu-
rally favorable factors and the type of livestock production have re-
sulted in the maintenance of the range. The 30 inches of rainfall
and a soil formed largely from limestone, but too shallow to till, pro-
duces high forage yields. Rehabilitation in this type according to
Dr. A. E. Aldous, of the Kansas Agricultural College, will take place
under 2 years of rest and 2 years of moderate use if a small number
of the original plants remain to start with. Moreover, much of the
range is used for fattening steers on pasture which discourages exces-
sive stocking because to do so results in poor gains in weight by the
animals.
In Texas are found a number of large privately owned ranches,
some of them in excess of 100,000 acres in area, have been improved
by wells, reservoirs, and fences, and divided into seasonal pastures
CONSERVATION THE EXCEPTION 299
and moderately stocked so that plentiful pasturage is supplied except
in the severe drought years.
THE SAND HILLS OF NEBRASKA
The sand hills of Nebraska represent a unique situation because
natural conditions have virtually dictated a policy of conservative
use which has resulted in range preservation. Other factors have
contributed, but they are secondary. This is a compact area of
11,520,000 acres on a low rolling sand-dune formation which has
become fixed by the tall-grass cover located in the northwestern part
of the State. The soil is a fine sand, subject to severe wind erosion
when not protected by vegetation (72).
Early attempts at crop farming on 640-acre homesteads under the
Kinkaid Act failed in this section. The fine sandy soil, once the
vegetative cover was removed, became moving sand dunes. Taught
by bitter experience the survivors consolidated their holdings into
larger units, abandoned cropping practices, fenced their lands, and
engaged irt livestock production, based upon using about 80 percent
of the land for pasture, 18 percent for native hay meadows, and less
than 2 percent for crops.
Despite the delicate balance in which nature holds these lands, the
climate, the native vegetation, and the absorptive capacity of the
soil favor rehabilitation after depletion. Seventy-six to 80 percent
of the 16 to 21 inches of precipitation falls between April and Sep-
tember and are readily absorbed. Forage yields are reduced by
drought, but complete failures in forage production are unknown.
The soil dictates forcibly the methods of management which will
maintain a plant cover. Overgrazing or prairie fires expose the sand
to wind action and cause rejuvenation of blow-outs. Extreme care
must be exercised to prevent trailing or undue concentration of live-
stock at water holes or wells because the depletion under abuse is
rapid and conclusive. The one essential that must be observed is
the maintenance of a covering of vegetation to prevent wind erosion.
Other factors have been helpful. The production of grass-fat beef
or of fat feeders that may be finished on corn has encouraged light
stocking to insure the best gains. Costs of production have been kept
low enough to avoid pressure on the range. Favorable location and
transportation facilities result in a short haul to market and oppor-
tunity to take advantage of the higher markets. However, conserva-
tive range use is the principal factor accountable for a restoration
on privately owned land comparing favorably with that on the Ne-
braska National Forest, where the grazing capacity has been built
up 55 percent since 1911.
PRIVATELY OWNED RANGE LANDS IN AND ADJACENT TO NATIONAL FORESTS
National-forest administration has had a profound influence on a
large proportion of the privately owned range lands in good condi-
tion in the open-forest type (table 54a). Much of this land lies in
and adjacent to the national forests. There are approximately 10.5
million acres of alienated grazing land intermingled with Federal
land within the exterior boundaries of the national forests. The
great bulk of this is privately owned land, the remainder being in
300 THE WESTERN RANGE
State or other public ownership. A far greater acreage of privately
owned land in the open-forest type lies adjacent to the national
forests.
Management of 3,677,000 acres of the alienated land inside the
public forest boundaries is waived to the Forest Service. A still
greater acreage, both inside and adjacent, is handled under the "on
and off" permit system, the private land merely being handled as
part of forest-range units. This has resulted in the privately owned
lands being managed practically as national-forest range.
FACTORS WHICH HAVE FAVORED RANGE CONSERVATION
The best available estimates indicate that only 12 percent of the
privately owned range land in the western United States have been
maintained in good condition. These lands (see table 54a) are found
chiefly in the sand-hills region of the tall-grass type in Nebraska,
and in the open-forest-range type within and adjacent to the national
forests of the West. In the short-grass type in the Great Plains,
approximately 8 percent of the privately owned land is in good
condition, and throughout the remainder of the West are found a
few scattered tracts.
Natural favorable factors, such as better-than-average growing
conditions, plant species which are resistant to grazing and have
high recuperative capacity, such as the sod-forming species in the
Great Plains, a firm soil, good grazing capacity, and conditions which
favor good distribution of livestock on the range have played an
important role in maintaining many of the private ranges in good
condition. Still other contributing factors which have favored
range preservation are low purchase cost and freedom from exclusive
interest charges on land, low-cost public range in connection with
privately owned range, good business management, well-rounded-out
operating units, favorable location with regard to markets, and
special-use range, such as that for grass fattening of livestock. That
these natural and economic factors have contributed materially to
the avoidance of range depletion is not to be minimized. However,
the fact cannot be overlooked that there are, or at least were before
range depletion occurred, a far greater number of privately owned
or controlled range units on which most if not all of these factors
are favorable than there are such units upon which the range has been
maintained in good condition. Furthermore, there are units where, in
spite of many of these factors being unfavorable, range depletion
has not occurred.
To deliberate efforts to so use the range that the grazing capacity
will be sustained must be credited the greatest measure of range
maintenance on privately owned lands. There are individual owners
who have learned from experience, as in the Nebraska sand hills, or
for other reasons have come to realize that their range land is not
an inexhaustible mine but that it must receive proper consideration
in use if it is to continue to be a source of forage for sustaining live-
stock production. These owners have practiced conservative grazing
and applied simple range-management practices in order to maintain
their basic resource. There is no other single range region where
range-livestock production is on as sound a basis as in the sand hills
of Nebraska, where stern necessity early taught stockmen that
conservative grazing pays.
V. ITS SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC FUNCTION
Before passing to a discussion of the steps required to halt further-
deterioration of the range, and to restore it to something approaching
its original productivity and greatest public benefit, it is essential to
evaluate what the range resource and its depletion mean to the West
and to the Nation as a whole.
An appraisal of either the resource or its depletion is possible only
in terms of their social and economic significance. The production
of livestock, the water yield, and the income, pleasure, and diversion
from the wildlife and recreational opportunities dependent on range
lands mean nothing unless they add to human welfare; and on the
other hand, reduced grazing capacity, floods and erosion, depletion of
wild game, and impairment of recreational facilities carry no import
unless they detract from the well-being and standards of living
necessary to personal and national security.
To all of these products and services the vegetation on the range
is the key. Without it, all the other benefits to mankind that range
lands yield are void. With it livestock thrive, parched lands are
watered, game and other wildlife have ample forage and cover, the
natural beauty and grandeur of desert, plain, and mountain side are
enhanced, and upon this renewable and self -perpetuating resource,
more valuable than all the gold the West has mined, a thrifty and
enduring civilization can be maintained. The purpose of this chap-
ter is to review the functions of the vegetation cover of the range
from the angles of watershed conservation, wildlife preservation,
recreation, and the integrated agriculture of which the range is an
inseparable part.
301
IN WATERSHED PROTECTION
By REED W. BAILEY, Director, and Charles A. Connaughton, Silviculturist,
Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station
Preservation of satisfactory watershed conditions on range lands
is vital to the well-being of the West and therefore is of concern to
the entire Nation. Most towns and villages, many cities such as Los
Angeles, Salt Lake City, and Denver, and innumerable ranches and
farms rely on a usable and adequate supply of water produced wholly
or in part on range-land watersheds. Irrigation enterprises repre-
senting investments of nearly 6 billion dollars depend on a stable soil
mantle and stream flow from water-yielding ranges. Water power
and recreation for multitudes of people are sustained in many cases
by stream flow from range watersheds. A large population is de-
pendent on the soil of range lands to produce forage upon which the
2-billion-dollar grazing industry and its source of income are based.
The range watershed situation presents three aspects : Eighty-five
percent of the flow of important western streams comes from about
232 million acres, of which 79 percent is range lands. Silt is being
borne down into these streams from erosion on approximately 352
million acres, practically all of which is grazed. Finally, much of
the remainder of western range lands, such as those in the Great
Basin and Great Plains, is eroding so seriously that it is imperiling
productive capacity of the land, even though none of this eroded
material is contributing to larger streams.
All this points clearly to the great importance of constantly main-
taining an unbroken and productive soil mantle on all range land
and the maximum yield of water from range watersheds; yet little
thought has been given to the conservation of these values on other
than the national forests and some municipally owned areas. De-
pletion of vegetation, as shown previously, has been the rule for the
most part under other types of ownership or control, and with it
have come floods and erosion menacing the social and economic
security of the entire region. The destruction of soil and impair-
ment of watershed values is without doubt one of the gravest results
from misuse of the range.
WATERSHEDS or THE VIRGIN RANGE
The nature of the vegetation and soil mantle that clothed the
watersheds of the virgin range, the normal course of stream flow r
and the characteristics of natural erosion can be estimated from the
testimony of present conditions on well-managed national forests and
protected municipal watersheds, from such vestiges of primitive
areas as have thus far escaped depletion, and to some extent from
geologic evidence. Here may be seen how, during past centuries,
soils were safeguarded against excessive erosion and leaching by the
binding power of plant roots which filled the surface and subsurface
layers and by the physical protection which the plant cover and
303
304 THE WESTERN KANGE
organic mulch provided. As rains fell on the area, the full impact
was broken by the aerial parts of the vegetation, thereby preventing
compacting of the soil surface. On the virgin range dead plants
and herbage formed a ground litter, and eventually mixed year after
year with the mineral soil and produced a loose, porous earth mantle
which absorbed and retained against evaporation the maximum
quantity of water from rain and melting snow. The channels
formed by plant roots facilitated percolation. As the surface water
ran off its velocity was reduced by plant and litter obstructions which
checked and broke up the flow. Forest and shrub litter prevented
direct access to the soil by water flowing off slopes, and a similar
effect though not so complete in semiarid areas resulted from litter
of herbaceous plants, hence run-off water was clear or almost so.
The water absorbed by the topsoil percolated through the lower soil
depths and rock crevices to issue forth later as springs. These
maintain the flow of rivers and streams that have made possible
irrigation agriculture, electricity for industry, and municipal water
supplies.
In that stable and porous soil mantle the young nation pioneering
its way into the West had a priceless resource of which it was then
and for many decades thereafter unaware. It was a resource built
up by the age-old process of soil building and normal erosion, which
progresses with the slowness of geologic time, and has throughout
millenniums sculptured and molded the face of the earth. The soil
of the mountain slopes and the alluvium of the valley floors have
been produced in this way even the rocks of which most mountains
are composed have been formed of sediments which are products of
older periods of erosion and deposition. The principal method of
transportation of the weathered material from the slopes was by
natural gravity creep rather than by stripping and gullying by
water the creep of the soil being rarely rapid enough to disturb
plant populations or modify their general aspect. Surface run-off
carried a minimum of silt, destructive floods were unknown on many
areas and uncommon on most others, and streams were generally
clear, receiving what silt load they carried from the bottom of chan-
nels rather than from the vegetated slopes and protected stream
banks.
Ordinarily erosion progressed so slowly that soil was formed or
accumulated slightly more rapidly than it was removed. Only under
unusual conditions, as in Bryce Canyon, Utah, on certain Mancos
shale areas in Colorado and Utah, on the Chinle bad lands of Arizona,
and in the Breaks of the Missouri River, have adverse climatic and
geologic conditions prevented the fixing of the land surfaces by soil
formation and plant growth. In these relatively few instances,
run-off has been rapid and normal erosion pronounced, giving rise
to muddy streams whose flow fluctuated greatly.
Elsewhere soil and vegetative cover were sustained by virtue of a
delicate balance between the constructive and destructive forces. On
the one hand the weathering of rock and plant succession built up the
soil mantle, and the vegetation that blanketed it served to hold it in
place; on the other hand, the destructive forces of a rigorous and
variable climate and of steep slopes operated against this accumula-
tion and stabilization. Vegetation was invariably the deciding factor
in the balance. The presence of a natural plant cover enabled the
constructive forces to nold sway and to preserve watershed values.
IN WATERSHED PROTECTION
305
THE FLOOD AND EROSION MENACE OF RECENT YEARS
When the white man's herds of cattle and sheep multiplied beyond
the capacity of the range to carry them properly, depletion of vegeta-
tion upset this natural balance and the utility of the virgin watersheds
became impaired. As overgrazing and fire reduced the density of the
Slight or no erosion
Material erosion
Severe erosion
Severe wind erosion
FIGURE 65. CHARACTER AND EXTENT OF EROSION ON WESTERN RANGE LANDS.
As a result of range depletion, accelerated erosion is fast removing incredible quantities
of soil from large areas, resulting in the devastation of range and agricultural lands
and serious silting of irrigation improvements. In this process, the fertile topsoil
on which the range depends is the first to go.
range cover, and as the litter and humus layers were broken through,
the devastating forces of soil erosion were greatly accelerated (fig. 65)
and unretarded run-off seriously modified the natural stream flow
and caused many floods.
6494636 21
306 THE WESTERN RANGE
Over large areas of the western range the original fertile, sponge-
like soil cover has been gashed and stripped off, exposing a sterile, less
pervious substratum. Deep gullies and gorgelike channels are com-
mon in the valleys and meadows, and slopes have been cut and carved
until mere islands of fertile soil remain. Watersheds that formerly
yielded only steady, quiet-flowing streams and rivers now produce
devastating floods when rains come and a shrunken, inadequate flow
at other times. Depletion of plant cover has not only reduced the
utility of the unregulated range land but with it has come such a
biologic upset to watershed lands that they have become a menace to
agricultural, industrial, and social welfare. The full meaning of this
threat to the well-being of the entire range country becomes clearer
as the havoc wrought is examined in detail.
FLOODS
The flood menace in the West has no static quality. As the
effects of depletion are brought into action by abnormalities of storm,
floods increase year by year in frequency and intensity. Scarcely
a day passes during the period of summer rainstorms that western
newspapers of one locality or another do not carry accounts of de-
struction by water and mud-rock flows. To be sure, such catas-
trophes are very different from the great inundations that the
easterner has learned to expect from protracted heavy rains and
melting snow. High water, sometimes reaching flood proportions,
is also common in the spring in many western streams. But sum-
mer flash floods resulting from a single brief intensified storm or
so-called cloudburst may be equally destructive of life and property.
A stream course may be dry one minute and the next filled to the
brim by a rush of silt- and debris-laden water that within the hour
will be utterly gone. Not a drop of rain may have fallen in the
valley lowlands upon which such sudden floods debouch. The only
warning to the victims may have been the constant threat of plant
depletion on watersheds above them a portent only too seldom re-
vealing its full meaning in advance. Without doubt the flood prob-
lem is acute and is becoming of increasingly greater significance in
all the range States.
For the past 40 years floods, of a severity to which boulder-strewn
fields and valleys bear evidence, have been increasing over the entire
length and breadth of Utah. Between Ogden and Salt Lake City
15 canyons in the Wasatch Mountain front have within the past
few decades produced such floods all originating on depleted, pri-
vately owned range lands representing a total of only a few hundred
acres and but a small portion of each individual watershed. In 1923,
and again in 1930, floods and mud-rock flows pouring forth from
certain of these canyons exceeded anything which has occurred in
that area for at least 20,000 years (10). Boulders weighing as
much as 200 tons were carried into the valley, farm lands were
ruined, homes and other improvements were destroyed, and lives
were lost (fig. 66). In 1932 at least 27 important watersheds in the
State flooded. An investigation of these areas by State and Fed-
eral agencies revealed that this serious situation has developed
largely since settlement and that depleted range lands are the chief
source of flood waters.
IN WATERSHED PROTECTION
307
Several drainages in Colorado, tributary to the general area sur-
rounding Denver, are highly susceptible to rapid run-off and peri-
odically produce major floods. From a special examination of the
watersheds, made in 1934 it was readily determined that, while the
flood menace in this locality was already pronounced, still more
serious flooding could be expected if depletion of vegetation con-
tinued. There is little doubt that the Pueblo floods of 1921 were
due in part to depleted watersheds. They swept the entire Arkan-
sas River Valley from Florence 30 miles west of Pueblo to the
State line, causing tremendous waste of property and heavy loss of
life.
FIGURE 66. PROPERTY AND IMPROVEMENTS DEVASTATED BY MUD-ROCK
FLOWS.
Sweeping out of the overgrazed watersheds in Davis County, Utah, mud-rock flows,
carrying boulders weighing as much as 200 tons, devastated 1,800 acres of the most
valuable garden, orchard, and farm land in the State, wrecked homes and farm
buildings, and blocked or washed out highways and railroads. Such catastrophes are
common in varying degrees of severity throughout the depleted range areas of the
West.
Some of the most serious floods resulting from depletion of the
plant cover of watersheds have occurred in California, and among
these the Tehachapi flood of 1932 stands out as a glaring example
of effect of misused range lands. In September 1932 the concentra-
tion of water from a heavy rain storm near Tehachapi Pass un-
leashed its fury on the valley lowlands and caused loss of life and
property.' The 1934 floods, caused by destruction of vegetation by
fire on the watersheds near Los Angeles, attracted Nation-wide
attention because of the damage caused. Sacramento Valley ex-
perienced a disastrous flood in 1928 as a result of rapid run-off from
the exposed slopes of its catchment basins. These are examples of
major floods. Other minor floods too numerous to mention, have
occurred periodically over much of the interior basin and southern
coastal region, building up a staggering total of losses.
308 THE WESTERN RANGE
In contrast to the spectacular mountain floods oftentimes accom-
panied by mud-rock flows, are the more common floods of silt-bear-
ing water in the Southwest and Colorado Plateau. In these regions
of more gentle gradients and sparsely-vegetated slopes, floods have
always occurred, but historical evidence together with field investi-
gation clearly indicate that they are yearly becoming more prevalent
and more destructive.
In any presentation of the western flood problem it cannot too
strongly be stressed that the communities desolated, the individuals
bankrupt and bereaved by these floods have in many instances paid
in life and property for the privileges enjoyed by themselves or
others in the free use of watershed range. The evidence of this is
clear. In the Escalante River Valley in southern Utah, for example,
the first devastating floods occurred approximately 15 years after
the settlers began to crowd the ranges with their herds. Since that
time annual floods have been almost the rule, and in the single year
of 1932, 19 major floods raged through portions of this valley, in-
undating agricultural land and tearing away sections of the fertile
alluvial valley fill. In 1921, five drainages in western Colorado
flooded during a storm that brought only 2.5 inches of precipitation
over a 4-day period. The waters from one of the canyons washed out
several miles of railroad track and those from another cut a new
stream channel directly through the town of Lake City. Run-off
from depleted range lands on the tributaries of the Virgin River in
southern Utah swelled the river's flow sufficiently during the early
spring of 1931 to take out bridges, inundate agricultural lands, and
raise the flow of the Colorado River at Boulder Dam higher than had
been anticipated for the whole of the Colorado River drainage.
The agricultural lands of the San Juan and Paria River Valleys
in Utah have similarly been inundated and eroded, resulting in the
abandonment of settlements. Historical evidence shows that the
first serious flood came approximately 15 years after settlement, and
that from then on catastrophes appeared with increasing frequency.
Further substantiation is given by Olmstead's (96) investigations
in the Gila River Valley in Arizona where he found a remarkable
difference between the destructive floods occurring during the first
two decades of the present century and those of the early days. The
earlier floods spread out over the countryside with relatively little
destruction. The tearing out of great channels and depositing of
sterile sands on fertile soil are entirely recent phenomena.
EROSION
ACCELEKATBD EROSION FOLLOWING RANGE ABUSE
To understand what erosion is doing to western watersheds today,
it is essential to have clearly in mind what is meant by accelerated
erosion, which followed misuse of land and forage, as distinguished
from the normal erosion that has always been in operation. Ac-
celerated erosion is a relatively rapid process, removing from the
slopes and even flats soil that was ages in the making. Abnormal in
action, it proceeds from man-made rather than natural causes. It is
induced chiefly by the destruction of plant cover and the consequent
disturbance of the natural balance so necessary to a stabilized soil
surface. Accelerated erosion is of several types, the most important
IN WATERSHED PROTECTION 309
being sheet, gully, and trench erosion caused by water, and another
form of sheet erosion caused by wind. Gully and sheet erosion are
most pronounced on steep mountainous slopes, trench erosion in the
low gradient valleys characteristic of the Southwest, and wind ero-
sion on flat desert or plains country. The seriousness of accelerated
erosion is often not recognized until the eroded soil and other debris
is deposited destructively on valley floors and along stream channels.
FIGURE 67. MOUNTAIN SLOPES STRIPPED BARE.
When vegetation that has bound and protected the soil and retarded run-off on the
mountain slopes is destroyed, the run-off washes away the soil itself which will re-
quire thousands of years to replace. Often a sterile rocky substratum is exposed, as in
the above foreground. The vegetated islands of soil that remain as shown in the
background of this view, will soon be eroded and gone unless the plant cover on the
denuded slopes is restored.
On the mountain slopes, under sheet and gully erosion, soil re-
moval can proceed at a terrific rate. Following the depletion of
vegetation, water from heavy rains flows rapidly over the surface,
transporting fine soil material with it. By this process a sheet of
the fertile top soil has been removed from millions of acres of range
land. Where soil texture and topography abet this action, the entire
soil cover may be removed (fig. 67) . In most situations, gullies also
develop early and continue throughout the erosion cycle as the
dominant process. In the early phases of gully formation, parallel
stringers, often called "shoestring erosion", streak the eroding slopes
and form a branched system of deep cuts and washes as they increase
in size.
Trench erosion or arroyo cutting is most common in the Colorado
Plateau and Southwestern regions, where alluvial-filled valleys are
being deeply cut with a labyrinth of vertical-walled channels.
Many such trenches, however, have also cut through valleys in Call-
310 THE WESTERN RANGE
fornia, Oregon, and elsewhere. Trench erosion arises usually from
a break in the surface soils in which the run-off concentrates and
channels rapidly through the valley flats. As the initial trench or
arroyo advances by headward cutting, tributary trenches develop
wherever lateral drainages are intersected and in turn grow into
major cuts, each one excavating huge sections of the valley floor.
Wind erosion tears away and lifts in air the finer soil particles
from the inadequately protected surface, at the same time that
coarser particles are swept along the ground and oftentimes heaped
into dunes. In some instances what is known as "desert pavement",
consisting of residual rock fragments on the surface of the ground,
characterizes the advance stages of this process.
Destruction caused by accelerated erosion on range lands, while
costly in social and economic values everywhere, differs considerably
in the different physiographic types in the western range areas.
These types are, broadly, the mountain regions, the Colorado Plateau
and the Southwest, the northern desert valleys, and the Great Plains.
EROSION IN THE MOUNTAIN EEGIONS
Erosion and soil wastage present one of their most serious problems
on the steeper grazing lands. From the mountains of the Pacific
Coast to the eastern slopes of the Rockies, the utility of many over-
grazed watersheds has diminished appreciably through the process
of erosion. Slopes once comparatively uniform and smooth are
marred with sharp niche-like gullies cut to subsoil or sterile bed-
rock. Mountain meadows have been drained and ruined following
the development of gullies and channels in their deep mellow soil.
Large areas have had part or all of the topsoil removed by sheet
erosion less striking than gully or trench erosion, but none the
less serious. The full meaning of complete removal of the topsoil
by sheet erosion under the dry climatic conditions of the West
becomes very evident when it is realized that since the recession of
ancient Lake Bonne ville that occupied basins in the intermountain
region 50,000 years ago, only 10 to 14 inches of humic soil has been
formed on the most favorable sites of its old beaches and deltas.
What this situation amounts to on mismanaged mountain range
in Utah was brought out by a special investigation of a seriously
depleted watershed area in Davis County. Here overgrazing and
fire had so stripped off the plant coyer as to permit 18 to 36 inches
of topsoil to be removed on approximately 21 percent of the area;
6 to 18 inches on 22 percent; up to 6 inches on 39 percent; and on
only 18 percent of the area was the soil undisturbed. Badly de-
pleted portions are ripped and torn by gullies 3 to 4 feet deep.
Stream channels in this area have recently been scoured almost to
their heads and in their lower reaches have been cut as much as
70 feet in depth and 200 or more feet wide.
In Idaho and Oregon the slopes of many drainage basins of the
Owyhee River are badly eroded and streams which formerly flowed
between grassy banks are now seeping along through sandy washes
or flowing through raw cuts with steep, sloughing sides. On foot-
hill tributaries of the Snake River in this same general region both
sheet and gully erosion are also very evident. In California severe
IN WATERSHED PROTECTION
311
gully and sheet erosion characterizes a large area of overgrazed land
in coast drainage from Ventura County southward, and in the San
Joaquin and Sacramento River basins. In other parts of this State
erosion is present in varying degrees of seriousness, and is particu-
larly evident on mountain meadows subject to concentrated grazing.
COLOEADO PLATEAU AND SOUTHWESTERN REGIONS
Accelerated erosion on the Colorado Plateau and in the South-
west is in general similar to that in mountainous areas but distinc-
tive in detail. In the depleted intermediate and lower elevational
zones in these regions channeling and arroyo cutting of alluvium-
filled valleys is virtually eating the heart out of the best grazing and
agricultural lands (fig. 68). On depleted mesa lands the topsoil
FIGURE 68. FERTILE VALLEYS DEEPLY TRENCHED.
This view of upper Kanab Creek, Utah, illustrates the channel-cutting resulting from
range depletion. Recent erosion has channeled thousands of tons of soil out of the
valley floors. Trenches 20 to 100 feet deep and 200 to 500 feet wide are common
where, prior to settlement, only shallow streams or drainage depressions existed. In
this way, large tracts of fertile and productive land in the Southwest have been ruined.
has been blown or washed away in sheets, leaving accumulations of
loose sand, gravel, and rock, or pedestal-like remnants of soil. In
the higher elevational zones that have not escaped range deteriora-
tion, meadow lands are deeply channeled and drained of their former
source of natural subirrigation.
The general acceleration of erosion on the Colorado River drainage
basin north of the Grand Canyon was determined by a survey made
in 1932 and 1933. Of 115 drainages examined upon which unregu-
lated grazing had been permitted, 111 were eroding at a rate con-
siderably more rapid than normal. In Wyoming and northern Utah
raw gullies were frequent and active stream-bed channeling not un-
common. In Colorado and southern Utah the most serious type
of erosion was the trenching or channeling of the loose, fertile soil
312 THE WESTERN RANGE
deposits of the productive valleys, of which Kanab Creek, Johnson
Valley, and the Virgin and San Juan Rivers in southern Utah are
typical.
Kanab Creek formerly flowed over the floor of a broad, fertile,
well-vegetated valley. In the relatively brief period since range
livestock were first introduced by the Mormon pioneers, its whole
character has changed and it is now confined to a miniature "Grand
Canyon" with a channel 30 to 100 feet deep and 200 or more feet
wide. Johnson Valley, now called Johnson Wash because of the
trenching of the previously aggraded valley floor, is cut with a many-
branched arroyo which reaches a depth of 40 feet and a width of
more than 300 feet, from which thousands of tons of soil have recently
been removed. In the lower valley of the Virgin River heavy silt
deposits swept by accelerated erosion from its upper reaches are so
clogging the stream flow as to send it meandering over the valley
floor, where it is removing additional surface soil and inundating
agricultural lands.
In the Southwest abnormal erosion has caused some areas to
resemble natural badlands. Portions of the Rio Puerco and Rio
Salado Valleys in New Mexico, and the San Simon and San Pedro
Valleys in Arizona have been carved with deep channels which
divide the valley floor into innumerable isolated segments. In the
valley of the Rio Puerco, where only small channels existed prior to
1885, destructive erosion has cut trenches 200 to 500 feet wide in the
fertile soil of its floor.
A survey of the upper Rio Grande drainage in New Mexico above
Elephant Butte Dam found accelerated erosion within all of nine
vegetative types. Within this area only 25 percent of the water-
shed is in fair to good condition, 35 percent is characterized by
advanced erosion, and 40 percent by excessive erosion. The water-
sheds of the Rio Grande tributaries below Embudo, N. Mex., have
a badly depleted cover of range vegetation and discharge enormous
quantities of silt and floodwater into the main channel. This silt,
carried down and deposited in the low -gradient channel of the Middle
Valley, has so built up the channel as to slow down the flow
of the river, causing the water-logging of 80,000 acres of formerly
productive farm land.
Other studies by the Southwestern Forest and Range Experiment
Station, on the Salt River watershed in Arizona, show that an average
of 432 cubic feet per acre of topsoil and soil-forming materials is
lost annually from typical deteriorated brush ranges.
On mesa areas, such as those on the Navajo Indian Reservation,
great sheets of surface soil from the grassland have been blown
or washed away as a direct result oi) grazing abuse, and arroyos
30 to 50 feet wide and 10 to 20 feet deep, with tributary gullies
8 feet wide and 5 feet deep, are common where originally only shal-
low streambeds and depressions were present.
The higher plateau grazing areas which have been used with no
regard to watershed values have been severely channeled. The lower
Rio Jemez drainage is a typical example. Here arroyos have been
cut through at least 25 percent of the meadows, and 40 to 50 percent
more are in the process of cutting.
WATERSHED PROTECTION 313
NORTHERN DESERT VALLEY REGIONS
The erosion picture presented by northern desert valley lands,
chiefly of the Great Basin region in Nevada and Utah, is distinctive.
In these valleys, although the heavy rainstorms of summer are often
of sufficient intensity to cause trouble, the chief erosive agent is wind.
Over large areas much of the topsoil has been blown away, and
clumps of grass and shrubs, whose roots hold small hummocks of
soil together, mark the scattered spots where overgrazing has failed
to kill the plant cover. New sand dunes forming in these valleys
present a serious threat. One particularly badly overgrazed area
near Grantsville, Utah, has been the source of severe dust storms
which have blanketed Salt Lake City and Ogden. "Blow-out" holes,
12 feet deep and 4 to 6 acres in extent, have been formed and the
surface soil has been stripped or shifted over an area of more than
35,000 acres. 37
The lowland areas of the Columbia River Basin in Idaho, Oregon,
and Washington are suffering also from wind erosion, and sand
dunes have formed in many localities. As some of these lands re-
ceive more precipitation than do the Utah and Nevada lowlands,
they are more generally eroded by water.
GREAT PLAINS
The erosion on range lands of the Great Plains contributes a con-
siderable portion of the great silt load carried by the Missouri,
Platte, Arkansas, Red, and other rivers, with their tributaries. Even
in the Badlands of Montana and the Dakotas, plant-cover depletion
is accelerating erosion greatly beyond its normal rapid rate. Gully
erosion is less widespread and less serious, however, than sheet ero-
sion because of soil, topographic, and climatic conditions.
Dust storms, as a manifestation of sheet erosion, have become in-
creasingly more frequent and serious in the Plains region. Thou-
sands of acres of true grazing land from the Dakotas south to Texas,
upon which the sod had been broken for agricultural purposes, are
the main source of these storms. Areas suffering merely from over-
grazing have contributed somewhat toward the dust supply, but
their role is overshadowed by the dust resulting from the injudicious
attempt to cultivate land unfit for that purpose. Several localities,
generally smaller than the famous "dust bowl" of eastern Colorado
and western Kansas, are devastated and have in turn ruined many
acres of adjacent lands.
The examples of erosion and flood damage specifically cited might
be multiplied indefinitely. However, the illustrations presented
show that the curse of floods and* erosion that has developed over
the West in the last half century is a serious and rapidly increasing
menace. Floods of accelerating frequency and severity, and slopes
and valleys riddled with gullies and chasms bear convincing testi-
mony to man's misuse of the range resources.
87 According to unpublished data of the Soil Conservation Service prepared by G. S.
Quate and H. J. Helm in 1935.
314 THE WESTERN RANGE
CAUSES OF ACCELERATED EROSION AND FLOODS
That the present serious problem of floods and erosion on the
western watersheds is the result of past misuse of range lands is
substantiated by extensive evidence of the part played by various
contributing factors. Of these the most prominent are the physical
factors of climate, soil, and topography and the biological factors
of vegetation and organic matter in and on the soil.
CLIMATE
Climate exerts its influence directly on erosion and floods through
the amount, kind, and intensity of precipitation and indirectly
through its effect on vegetation and soil. Even this direct effect has
many ramifications, however, when it is considered that although
the West is essentially arid, and some areas in the lower deserts
receive as little as 3 to 4 inches of rainfall annually, other areas
in the higher mountains receive as much as 60 inches. The kind
and intensity of precipitation vary greatly also. At the lower ele-
vations precipitation falls largely as rain, and in many places in
storms of sufficiently great intensity to result in rapid accumulations
of water having great erosive force. Because of the naturally scant
protective cover of vegetation in the arid and semiarid portions,
rains relatively light in character as compared to those in more
humid areas may run off so readily and develop into such violent
floods that they are classed as torrential. In the mountain areas a
large proportion of the annual fall comes as snow, which is released
as free water only during the spring and early summer. Rains that
fall on steep mountain slopes may be intense, greatly increasing
the danger of erosion on any soil not bound in place or otherwise
inadequately protected by plants ; or they may be moderate, causing
severe erosion only where plant depletion is most serious and topog-
raphy steepest.
Hard rains falling on denuded land, whether in the desert regions
or in the mountains, result in rapid accumulations of water that
inevitably cause the gullying of slopes and trenching of valleys.
If there are depleted range areas in the West today on which erosion
is only slight or moderate, it is principally because rainfall there
is uniformly low in intensity, slope is negligible, or the soil is
unusually porous.
The indirect relation of climate to accelerated erosion and floods
is exerted through the effect of drought, high temperature, wind,
and high rates of evaporation on vegetation and soil. Undoubtedly
drought, particularly protracted, drought, has contributed greatly
to the decline of the watershed value of certain areas by killing on
some of the plants or limiting their growth and reducing their
density. The death or diminished growth of the plant means, in
turn, a general depletion of the plant cover and less physical pro-
tection to the soil. During droughts, the physical properties of the
soil are modified by excessive drying, its power of cohesion is les-
sened, and it becomes more susceptible to the forces of wind and
water. The stage is thus set for destructive erosion.
IN WATERSHED PROTECTION 315
High temperatures and winds, causing excessive evaporation, act
on the plants and soil in exactly the same manner as drought.
Regardless of how much precipitation occurs, it is of no value as
a source of water for plants or for stream flow if it evaporates
almost as rapidly as it falls. These various forms of the action
of climate on the soil and vegetation mantle are serious enough when
soil and topography also favor erosion and flooding, but their effects
are most pronounced when the plant cover has been depleted by
overgrazing and fire.
SOILS
The inherent nature of the soil plays an important role in de-
termining the rate of erosion and the percent of the total precipi-
tation which runs off the surface of any area. Some soils, deficient
in plant nutrients, are capable of supporting only a sparse cover
of vegetation which influences their absorptive powers but little and
affords them a minimum of physical protection against erosion.
The relative erosibility of different soils is greatly influenced by such
physical properties as their imperviousness to water and their water-
holding capacity. The Mancos shales of certain parts of the West,
for example, produce soils that are highly impervious, permitting
rapid run-off of a large part of the precipitation and a consequent
rapid natural erosion. In contrast, soils from the Wasatch con-
glomerate naturally absorb water readily, permit less run-off, and
consequently are not easily eroded. All soils, however, regardless
of their inherent nature and the parent rock from which they
are derived, absorb precipitation most readily and are subject
to a minimum of erosion when they are well clothed with vegetation.
TOPOGRAPHY
Topography of a watershed is a significant factor in determining
the extent of erosion and character of run-off. Steepness of slope
naturally influences velocity of run-off; and since the transporting
power of water increases as the fourth to sixth power of its velocity,
it is evident that soil movement would be greater on steeper slopes,
other factors being equal. This in turn increases its cutting power.
Increased velocity means also that the flowing water passes over the
surface more rapidly, thus allowing less time for absorption and
penetration. Gravity creep of certain soils on steep slopes, inde-
pendent of the influence of water, is noticeable in some instances,
indicating that the natural balance which is so necessary to soil
stability hangs very precariously.
The topographic influence expresses itself also in its modification
of the action of general and local climate. Rugged, broken country
is less likely to suffer wind erosion than flat or rolling areas where
winds can be generated and blow unobstructed with great force.
The action of high temperatures and evaporation vary with exposure
to the sun's rays, as is evident in the contrast between plant cover
and soil mantle on the north and south slopes of canyons and
mountains.
316 THE WESTERN RANGE
Nearly all the effects of topography, however, as in the case of
climate or soil, are greatly modified by the plant growth. Under any
but extreme conditions of climate, soil, and topography this vegeta-
tion mantle is the critical factor of the watershed. Even on slopes
steeper than the angle of repose, soils are built up under it. Fur-
thermore, vegetation is the one factor that man can control. Thus
the major interest in analyzing the causes of accelerated run-off and
erosion centers on the part played by the plant cover.
VEGETATION
On the nonforested arid and semiarid range lands of the West
herbaceous and shrubby plants form the vegetation which furnishes
protection to the watersheds. Even on forest lands, and especially
those open forest types which are suitable for grazing, the herbace-
ous and shrubby plant growth materially supplements the value of
the timber growth and its litter in affording adequate watershed
protection. This is especially true in the open orchard-like stands
of the pinon- juniper type, where only a small proportion of the
soil is directly protected by tree growth. As in forests (#, 86),
it is not the areal growth alone which is of value. The total plant
cover, the root system, the litter, and the humic horizon of the
upper layers of the soil composed chiefly of decaying organic mat-
ter, all make up the range cover of value in the protection of water-
sheds. In the main, the vegetation present under virgin conditions
represents the type developed by natural forces best adapted to the
specific climatic, soil, and other conditions of the particular site.
It has been rather generally recognized for a number of years
that the protective cover on range lands has a marked effect in con-
trolling soil erosion and abnormal run-off. Where overgrazing and
fire have been rampant, serious consequences were observed; and
where some degree of protection has been afforded, favorable water-
shed conditions have prevailed. Restoration of the plant cover on
denuded areas has indicated also its beneficial effect. For example,
Manti canyon in Utah (108), which was overgrazed badly begin-
ning in the late 70's, produced a number of serious floods between
1888 and 1902. In 1903 this area was included within the Manti
National Forest and, after 5 years of complete protection followed
by regulated grazing, the range cover has been greatly improved,
accelerated erosion halted, and all flooding of any consequence
stopped.
The general outcome of the many observations on the relation of
range cover to conservation of the watershed resource was, how-
ever, one of confusion, as shown by the differences in concepts held
by some geologists, engineers, ecologists, and foresters. It became
apparent that the role of vegetation had to be ascertained quantita-
tively by detailed investigation. Research on this subject was ac-
cordingly undertaken and, though a vast amount of detailed work
still remains to be done, certain general concepts have already been
developed and proved.
IN WATERSHED PROTECTION
317
EFFECT OF DENSITY OF VEGETATION
The first of these investigations (51) of any consequence on west-
ern range land was instituted by the Forest Service on the Wasatch
Plateau, near Ephraim, Utah, in 1912, where a study was made of
the run-off and erosion from two grazing areas of about 10 acres
each, fairly similar except for the cover of vegetation. Area A
had an original plant density of 16 percent and Area B a density
of 40 percent. Both areas were grazed and for the 6 years, 1915 to
1920, the cover was maintained at the original densities. During
the period 1921 to 1923 Area A was allowed to revegetate until its
density approximately equaled that of Area B. From 1924 to 1929
both areas were grazed and maintained at equal densities. The
results from summer rains are given in table 55.
TABLE 55. The influence of vegetation change on run-off percent and sediment
removed during summer precipitation period from two test areas on the
Wasatch Plateau
Values per acre for watershed A
Values per acre for watershed
B
A/B ratios
Plant density
Surface
run-off 1
Sediment
Plant
density
Surface
run-off a
Sediment
Run-off
percent >
Sediment
Percent
16
Percent
10.33
8.74
5.49
Cubicfeet
133.8
105.0
19.2
Percent
40
40
40
Percent
2.52
3.03
5.23
Cubicfeet
24.7
37.3
7.7
Ratio
4.10
2.88
1.05
Ratio
5.42
2.82
2.48
16 to 40...
40
1 Plant density as here used is the percentage of total soil that is covered by the total spread of the plan?
growth.
1 Percentages are based on effective precipitation.
With area A in a depleted condition the run-off percent and sedi-
ment removed were approximately 4.1 and 5.4 times that from area
B. As the plant cover was gradually restored on the former, these
differences diminished until the ratios for run-off percent and sedi-
ment were only 2.9 and 2.8. Finally, when the densities of the plant
cover were made comparable, the run-off percent from the two areas
was practically the same, and the excess of silt removed from A
was reduced from 109.1 to 11.5 cubic feet.
This reduction of silt removed from area A following revegeta-
tion has far greater significance than merely the reduction of soil
movement, because of its indirect effect on the future rate of ab-
sorption and percolation of the soil. This is shown by studies (86)
conducted by the California Forest and Range Experiment Station,
in which slightly less than 2 percent of sediment was introduced into
clear water and allowed to percolate through a soil surface. It was
found that the rate of percolation of this muddy water amounted to
a reduction of 90 percent within 6 hours over the percolation rate
for clear water. The sealing of soil pores by sedimentation not only
immediately reduced the speed of percolation but this change re-
mained permanent since the subsequent use of clear water did not
restore the original percolation rate. This indicates clearly that
318 THE WESTERN RANGE
silt-laden water from eroding land tends to increase run-off by
decreasing absorption on all areas over which it passes.
In southern California, where water is extremely valuable, it is
desirable to save as much of the streamflow from mountain canyons
as possible. The construction of storage basins is costly and there
is a great dearth of suitable sites. A common practice, therefore, is
to divert the clear water emerging from such canyons over the gravel
beds at their mouths. The water is later pumped from the natural
underground storage basins for domestic use and irrigation. If,
however, the streamflow is muddy the gravels are quickly sealed
by the silt and the water runs off to the ocean, resulting in a scarcity
of the underground supply. It is vital, therefore, to prevent ero-
sion of the watersheds which would produce muddy streamflow.
EFFECT OF DIFFERENT STAGES OF DEPLETION
Studies conducted on the Boise River watershed in Idaho, with
the aid of a portable apparatus simulating natural rainfall, have
demonstrated the value of different plant types in preventing ero-
sion and conserving water on the granitic soils of that region. The
effects of varying intensities of rainfall, degree of slope, and dis-
turbance of soil were determined on comparable plots within four
plant types ranging from the annual weed, which represents the
most depleted type, to the bunchgrass, the most valuable. Under
all conditions of the experiment the average percentage of rainfall
which ran off and the amount of material eroded for the different
types is as shown in figure 69.
The bunchgrass type, which has the greatest forage value of any
local range type, and to which most grazing land in this area will
ultimately revert if unabused, yielded very little run-off and silt.
The downy chess and needlegrass-lupine types, which have suc-
ceeded the bunchgrass on overgrazed ranges at the lower and higher
elevations, respectively, are distinctly less effective watershed covers.
The manner in which these two types contribute to rapid run-off and
erosion is shown by the fact that, on the average, 25.5 percent of the
precipitation on the downy-chess cover and 47.6 percent on the
needlegrass-lupine cover were unabsorbed. Further, as this water
ran off it carried the equivalent of 2,017 and 4,783 pounds of soil
per acre from the respective types. The annual-weed type affords
far less protection than any of the others, permitting a 60.8 percent
run-off which transported an equivalent of 15,280 pounds of soil
per acre.
The characteristic root systems of the plants in the various types
studied, as sketched in figure 69, indicate that for this investigation
a dense mat of fine roots near the surface of the soil served best
in protecting the soil from accelerated erosion and in obtaining
maximum absorption.
The contribution of percent of slope, disturbed soil, and intensity
of rainfall to these results is shown in table 56, which is a further
IN WATEBSHED PROTECTION
319
break-down of figure 69. A change in percent of slope was mate-
rially noticeable in modifying run-off in the downy chess type only,
where excessive loss of water occurred on slopes greater than 30
percent. The unexpected decrease in the run-off from the steeper
slope in the needlegr ass-lupine type is attributed to the coarser tex-
ture of the soil on these slopes. Erosion was accelerated, however,
by steeper slopes in every type except the bunchgrass. Disturbed
soil as compared to undisturbed gave much the same effect as in-
creased percent of slope. In this case decreased run-off following
disturbance of the soil in the needlegrass-lupine type is due to the
increase of absorption caused by loosening of the surface. High
rainfall intensity accelerated both run-off and erosion from all types
except the bunchgrass, which continued to afford suitable protection
to the soil even when the intensity of the rainfall was doubled.
ANNUAL WEED
5% DENSITY
NEEDLEGRASS-
LUPINE
30% DENSITY
DOWNY CHESS
25% DENSITY
Run- off
Eroded material
FIGURE 69. THE MOST DESIRABLE FORAGE PLANTS ARE COMMONLY THE BEST
WATERSHED PROTECTORS.
Run-off and erosion from rainfall are negligible where the bunchgrasses predominate
the highly palatable virgin-range cover characteristic of south-central Idaho. Both
run-off and erosion are very pronounced where other plants have succeeded bunch-
grass because of overgrazing. The greatest percent of run-off and the largest amount
or eroded material come from annual weed cover a plant cover which is an in-
fallible expression of over utilization. A many-branched, fibrous root system is an
important factor in retarding soil removal and aiding absorption.
320
THE WESTERN RANGE
TABLE 56. Run-off and amount of erosion (induced by artificial storms of 1.80
inches on four range types on the Boise River watershed) as influenced by
steepness of slope, conditon of soil, and rate of rainfall
Cover type
Run-off 1
Average *
Slope
Soil
Rainfall >
30 per-
cent
40 per-
cent
Undis-
turbed
Dis-
turbed
Low
High
Bunchgrass
0.5
12.2
55.6
56.0
0.3
38.7
44.3
65.6
0.5
23.4
49.7
58.2
0.3
27.6
40.1
63.4
0.4
16.5
41.6
57.2
0.4
34.5
54.5
64.4
0.4
25.5
47.6
60.8
Downy chess . .
Needlegrass-lupine
Annual weeds .
Average '
40.0
37.2
32.8
32.8
28.8
38.4
Cover type
Erosion
Average *
Slope
Soil
Rainfall
30 per-
cent
40 per-
cent
Undis-
turbed
Dis-
turbed
Low
High
Bunchgrass
6
395
4,660
4,790
6
3,640
4,874
25, 770
6
939
3,359
12,006
6
3,095
6,320
18, 554
6
578
2,960
12, 976
6
3,456
6,573
17,584
6
2,017
4,791
15,280
Downy chess .
Needlegrass-lupine
Annual weeds
Average '
2,508
8,573
4,078
6,994
4,139
6,905
i Percent of rainfall applied.
1 Pounds per acre.
Low =0.03 inches per minute for 60 minutes. High =0.06 inches per minute for 30 minutes.
Each figure represents the average of tests on 12 5-milacre plots.
* Artificial disturbance of surface to simulate trampling by livestock.
Each figure represents the average of tests on 24 5-milacre plots.
The results of this study show vividly the relation of the decline
of plant cover and grazing values to the decline of watershed values.
It is observed throughout, as has been demonstrated in other sections
of this report, that the bunchgrass type, which because of its high
forage value suffers most severely on unmanaged ranges, is the
most effective in stabilizing run-off and erosion. The other three
types, which are actual invaders of depleted bunchgrass land, de-
cline in watershed protection value approximately as they decline
in forage value ; and when the annual weed stage is reached the in-
fallible expression of severe overgrazing both forage and watershed
values have been reduced to the lowest point attainable under a plant
cover.
EFFECT OF DEPLETION ON ABSORPTION
That vegetation has a definite and very important part in con-
serving precipitation on watersheds was substantiated by further
studies in the same general area. Measurements were taken of the
rate of absorption and percolation of surface water on paired plots,
each 1 foot square. One of the pair supported a single herbaceous
plant and the other was bare soil occurring between plants. Twenty-
three pairs were compared for plants typical of well-managed ranges
IN WATERSHED PROTECTION
321
and 16 pairs for plants common on depleted ranges. The results are
shown in figure TO. That plots supporting desirable forage plants
absorb water more rapidly than contiguous bare plots or even than
plots supporting the less desirable plants, is readily understandable,
It is interesting to note, however, that bare-soil spots on well-
managed range were more absorbent than the bare places on depleted
range, owing to the better soil conditions induced by the surround-
ing vegetation and its wider spreading root systems. Equal quan-
tities of water applied on these plots penetrated approximately 5
inches on vegetated plots on managed range as compared to
inches on vegetated plots on depleted range.
WELL- MANAGED RANGE
DEPLETED RANGE
UNDER
PLANT
COVER
UNDER BARE
PLANT SOIL
COVER
FIGURE 70. THE EFFECT OF DEPLETION ON ABSORPTION.
Where plants are present, the rate of absorption of water by the soil is materially in-
creased over that on bare soil. It is significant also that bare soil on well-managed
range land absorbs water more rapidly than similar spots on overgrazed range. The
data shown here are taken from averages obtained on plots on the Boise River water-
shed. Absorption under plant cover on well-managed range was at the rate of 0.44
inches per hour.
In every case the course of percolation appeared to follow plant
roots, demonstrating the superiority of extensive and fibrous roots,
characteristic of the perennial plants found on well-managed ranges,
over the more poorly developed root systems of plants typical of
depleted cover.
The necessity of maintaining an unbroken range cover, as dem-
onstrated on tne Boise River watershed, was further substantiated
by a general survey of the area made by the Forest Service. This
survey brought out the necessity for a plant-cover density of at least
30 percent to avoid erosion, since if grazing depletes the cover below
that point, run-off and erosion will be accelerated and the utility of
the watershed will be reduced.
64946 36 22
322 THE WESTERN RANGE
SOUTHWESTERN STUDIES CONFIBM RESULTS
A distinct correlation between the extent of range depletion and
degree of erosion was revealed in an investigation of range cover
and accelerated erosion on the upper Rio Grande watershed by the
Southwestern Forest and Range Experiment Station, in which ero-
sion was classified as moderate, advanced, and excessive. It was
founoll that range lands supporting a vegetation cover which had
deteriorated 7 to 40 percent in reference to virgin conditions was
eroding moderately; lands with a cover depleted 29 to 57 percent
were in an advanced state of erosion; and where the cover had
deteriorated 52 to 74 percent lands were eroding excessively.
An even more definite correlation between soil erosion and grass
cover was brought out in further studies by the Forest Service in
the Southwest. Here the annual run-off and soil erosion was meas-
ured from a grass range cover representing three degrees of deple-
tion on a 25-percent slope. With the range cover approximately
25 percent depleted, 22 percent of the annual precipitation was sur-
face run-off and the equivalent of 109 cubic feet of soil per acre was
eroded. With the cover approximately 50 and 75 percent depleted^
28 and 32 percent of the annual precipitation was surface run-on
and equivalents of 174 and 240 cubic feet of soil per acre were
eroded.
Further emphasis on the protection afforded the soil by a plant
cover is given in studies by F. L. Duley and M. F. Miller (44) on
agricultural land in Missouri. In this case, among other things, a
comparison was made between the run-off and erosion from barren
and sod-covered soil on slopes averaging about 3.7 percent over a
period of 6 years. Run-off from the sod-covered soil was equiva-
lent to 11.6 percent of the total rainfall, while run-off from the
barren soil was more than four times as much or 48.9 percent.
One hundred and twenty-three times as much soil was eroded from
the barren as from the sod-covered soil.
GEOLOGIC EVIDENCE
Geologic evidence obtained on the Davis County, Utah (10) and
on certain Colorado River watersheds (9) has shown that the dev-
astation of plant cover has been the major cause of accelerated
erosion and uncontrolled run-off on these areas. Recent channel
cutting and erosion has definitely exceeded any which has taken
place for the last 20,000 years in Davis County, illustrating the
unprecedented nature of the recent activity, at least in modern
geologic times. Since the deterioration of plant cover is the only
marked change in the factors effecting erosion and stream flow which
occurred since settlement, it is logical to ascribe the activity to that
source. On the Colorado River geologic evidence of the influence
of plant cover was determined by investigating the gradational
process of erosion on natural barren areas in which no acceleration
was found. At the same time, on the surrounding localities once
stabilized by a plant cover, erosion was accelerating. The deduction
was clear that vegetative depletion was the major factor causing
the present channeling and gullying on the formerly productive
lands in this drainage.
IN WATERSHED PROTECTION
323
DESTRUCTION OF VEGETATION BY FIRE GIVES COMPARABLE RESULTS
Depletion of vegetation by fire is of interest, since the results in
erosion and floods are similar to those from persistent overgrazing.
The La Crescenta flood in California is a dramatic illustration.
On New Year's Day, 1934, a general rain fell over the southern
California foothills including a 5,000 acre area that had been
severely burned 2 months previously. As presented in table 57,
the records of the California Forest and Range Experiment Sta-
tion show that the burned Verdugo and Pickens drainages received
approximately the same rainfall as the unburned areas to which
they are compared and yet the erosion and run-off on them was
tremendously greater. The most striking example was Pickens
Canyon, where run-off was increased fortyfold and erosion approxi-
mately one thousandfold.
TABLE 57. Erosion and run-off from the La Crescenta flood area and on
comparable unfourned slopes
Watershed
Rainfall
Area
Watershed affected
Peak run-
off
Eroded ma-
terial
Burned
Unburned
Burned Verdugo
Inches
12.5
10.8
12.5
12.4
Square
miles
19.30
16.85
.48
.30
Percent
33
Percent
67
100
Cubic feet
per <te^ ond
320
53
1,000
25
Cubic yards
per square
mil*
30,700
56
50, 000
52
Unburned San Dimas
Burned Pickens
100
Unburned Fern and Bell -..
100
A comparison of the effects of burning litter from small plots
under controlled conditions was made under varying intensities of
rainfall on typical California soils. The results substantiate other
experiments in the destruction of organic cover in that superficial
run-off was 3 to 16 times as great from bared as from litter-covered
soil and erosion was about 1,200 times as great.
NET EFFECT ON STREAM FLOW
The results reported above are of great importance on all range
lands throughout the West which deliver water for irrigation, power,
or domestic use. Most of the usable stream flow comes from the
melting of snow and from the gradual delivery from springs and
seeps of snow water absorbed by the soil and broken-rock blanket
of the watersheds. The more porous the soil cover the more per-
colation there is and the greater the value of this underground
supply. It is the cover of vegetation, its litter, and related values
which maintain maximum percolation. With removal of the vege-
tation the soil pores are quickly sealed and percolation is greatly
reduced, as previously explained. Studies on the Wasatch Pla-
teau in Utah have shown that the soil is saturated in the spring
from having absorbed its maximum capacity. Spring surface run-
off of melting snow was found to be practically unaffected by dif-
ferences in the vegetation cover. On the experimental areas this
spring run-off amounted to about 95 percent of the yearly water
delivery by surface run-off.
324 THE WESTERN KANGE
The stream flow from the melting snow and underground water
supply is generally clear, except as it may pick up sediment which-
had previously accumulated in the stream channel or as it may cut
the sides of eroding channels.
On the other hand, in most of the range area summer rains furnish
little of the yearly usable stream flow, yet they are the ones which
cause most of the destructive floods. The soil eroded from slopes
by summer rains is usually deposited in stream channels to clog them
and to be carried further downstream by subsequent floods or high-
water stages.
Restoration of the range cover on watersheds will result in a mate-
rial reduction in surface run-off from summer rains and therefore
a slight reduction in total yearly surface run-off, but this will be far
more than offset by the control of erosion and flash floods with all
of the destruction that they imply.
Notwithstanding, attempts are occasionally made to justify such
great increases in summer rainfall run-off from depleted areas as
have been shown in the studies cited. The theory is advanced that
denuded watersheds yield a greater volume of stream flow than
watersheds clothed with water-using vegetation, and, therefore, that
destruction of the plant cover is no loss. The fallacy in such a
theory is apparent when the test of common sense is applied. If
true, then the ideal water-yielding watershed would approximate
the water-shedding ability of a tin roof. What water fell on its
nonabsorbent surface would immediately and completely run off;
after the storm had passed, its slopes and gutters would be even drier
than the stream beds fed by a denuded mountainside. But there i&
one great difference one particular in which the watershed can
never attain the ideal "tin-roof" condition. Assume that to overcome
the undesirability of loss of rain water from the roof a barrel is
placed beneath the eaves, just as a storage reservoir may be built
in a canyon. One would say that it is only necessary to find a big
enough barrel or to build a "big enough reservoir to catch and hold
all the water that falls. But here the "tin-roof" analogy breaks
down, for the tin roof does not erode. How long would the effective
life of the barrel be if each storm brought down from the roof great
quantities of silt, mud, and debris such as is inevitably produced
from a devegetated watershed? The barrel is soon filled and the
precious moisture pours over its sides and is lost.
But, argues the theorist, much of this run-off will soak into the
soil and be conserved in that way an argument that overlooks the
tests already cited, in which it has been shown how naturally porous
and water-absorbing soil surfaces are clogged and rendered imper-
vious by the fine silt washed over them. No experiments have as
yet given any indication that the water loss represented by water
use, transpiration, and evaporation by and from the plant cover of a
mountain slope is at all comparable with the water loss and soil
wastage from that same slope devegetated.
The only safe procedure is to maintain as effective a plant cover
as possible on all important watersheds. Further research is re-
quired to determine the degree to which cover may be modified and
still function satisfactorily in retarded run-off, in soil building and
binding, in percolation of water, and in other ways to control erosion
and stream flow.
IN WATERSHED PROTECTION
325
OWNERSHIP OR CONTROL OF LAND AS A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR IN
ACCELERATING RUN-OFF AND EROSION
Ownership or control of range-land watersheds has been a major
factor contributing to their present impaired watershed utility. This
relationship is practically identical with that shown in a prevous
chapter between the status of land tenure and plant depletion. The
situation on the five general classes of ownership, based on the best
information available from field surveys and published and unpub-
lished records of the Department of Agriculture, is presented in
table 58.
TABLE 58. The watershed situation on western range lands
[In thousands of acres]
'Ownership class
Principal water-
yielding areas
. Areas of minor water yield
Total
Con-
tribut-
ing
little if
any silt
Silting streams *
Silting streams *
Not silting streams s
Severe-
eroded
Mate-
rially
eroded
Severe-
ly
eroded
Mate-
rially
eroded
Severe-
eroded
Mate-
rially
eroded
Slight
or no
erosion
'National forests
61, 948
5, 335
4, 551
5,527
45, 617
3,357
3, 572
6,525
2,107
7,811
13, 671
3,157
3,900
2,736
12, 937
2,212
16, 128
35, 867
20,690
96, 155
1,131
7,081
20, 670
14, 581
77, 682
130
2,540
30,560
5,208
36, 823
1,529
9,644
46, 825
10, 248
56, 514
3,976
934
3,107
4,419
42,008
87, 954
48, 391
152, 005
65, 516
375, 547
Indian lands
Public domain, etc. 4 .
State, county, municipal. _.
Private
Subtotal
23, 372
36,401
171, 052
121, 145
75, 261
124, 760
Total
122, 978
59,773
292,197
200,021
54, 444
729, 413
1 Range portion of watershed area furnishing 85 percent of water of major streams.
1 Area contributing an appreciable amount of silt to streams.
* Area eroding, more or less, but not contributing appreciably to silting of streams.
4 Includes grazing districts, public domain, and other Federal.
Management of the large acreage of privately owned range lands
-aimed primarily at the maximum utilization of forage has little
regard, except in a few notable cases, for sustained production and
for the watershed values on which nongrazing interests depend.
The production of maximum numbers of steers and lambs is domi-
nant throughout and water yield and erosion control only secondary,
if considered at all. The average depletion in grazing value of about
51 percent on private lands indicates, at least in part, why 145
million acres of the private land area is severely eroded and 160
million acres is materially eroded; also why approximately 195
million acres is contributing appreciably to the silting of streams.
These conditions indicate the seriousness of the watershed situation
on private lands.
Unregulated and highly competitive grazing on public domain,
part of which is now being placed under administration as grazing
districts, has resulted in practically universal depletion both of the
usable forage and the watershed values of these lands. Some other
Federal reservations are leased without regard for conservation of
the plant cover. Accordingly, there can be little surprise in the fact
that approximately 98 percent of these lands as a group is eroding
-more or less seriously and about 67 million acres are contributing
326 THE WESTERN RANGE
appreciable quantities of silt to major streams, even though a large
part occurs in the Great Basin, which does not drain into major
streams.
Unregulated grazing in past years on most Indian lands has had
the same effect. The extreme situation on the Navajo Reservation
and several smaller reservations on the Rio Grande watershed in the
Southwest accounts, in large part, for the high percentage of severely
eroding area.
Rental and leasing of most State-owned grazing lands to private
individuals have included no administrative supervision of the graz-
ing, and this has meant that no attention whatsoever has been paid
the preservation of watershed values, except as dictated by the self-
interest of the lessee in preservation of the cover for range use.
Range lands on the national forests, where land use has been under
administration with a watershed-protection objective, present a
vastly different picture. This is also true of some municipally
owned land, representing the water supplies of cities that do not
depend on sources within the national forests. In these cases the
general land-management policies have been influenced largely by
public welfare. The watershed value of grazing land has been rec-
ognized and coordinated with grazing and other uses. The result
has been that deterioration of the plant cover from overgrazing and
fire has been greatly reduced, efforts have been made to restore the
cover where depleted, and the yield of usable water and the soil con-
ditions in general are superior to those under any other land tenure.
Misused grazing land which has come under the administration of
the Forest Service from time to time has for the most part been
rehabilitated or started that way, instead of exploited further, with
the result that the present range cover on the national forests is on
an average depleted no more than 30 percent and only about 6.7
million acres are still eroding severely. These favorable results, no
less than the dire results depicted on unmanaged lands, dispel any
doubt that the same correlation which exists between ownership and
depletion exists also between ownership and destruction of watershed
resources, and for the same reason.
THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONSEQUENCE OF ACCELERATED RuN-Orr
AND EROSION
The immediate effects of accelerated run-off and erosion from
unmanaged range lands are very serious, but they- are only one
chapter in the whole story. The economic and social outlook for
the entire western United States is being threatened by the conse-
quences of these combined destructive agencies. If this seems too
bold an assertion, it is only necessary to turn to other countries and
other times to find ample substantiation. Semple (1%4), supported
by such other eminent authorities as Sir Napier Shaw and J. Hann,
has ascribed the decline and fall of ancient civilizations to misuse
of land and the resulting erosion which cut away the productive top
soil of hills and fields, leaving in its place barren subsoil or sterile
deposits of sand and rock. Homes and lives were, under such cir-
cumstances, destroyed by floods, famine followed devastation of
agricultural land or loss of irrigation water and improvements, and
the inhabitants of established communities were turned into roving
IN WATERSHED PROTECTION 327
tribes because they could no longer sustain themselves at home.
Syria, Palestine, and other Mediterranean countries were the chief
sufferers because of climatic and physiographic features. China,
as another example, still suffers greatly at irregular but frequent
intervals from inundations that take a terrific toll in the great
Yellow Biver Valley and similar areas. The disconcerting history
of the water and watershed resources of old-world countries typi-
fies what is now happening on a limited scale in the western United
States and what will happen on a far greater scale if the natural
resources upon which civilization is fundamentally built are not
conserved.
Forage and water produced from the virgin range land were two
of the most important resources which enabled the pioneers to build
up the present civilization of the West as a monument to the hard-
ships which they endured. The natural vegetation of the range
furnished a source of feed upon which a great livestock industry
was established. The run-off from the grass-covered hills and moun-
tains contributed much of the water that made the settlement of
cities and development of intensive farming and industry possible.
Storage and diversion dams, ditches, and canals for irrigation
projects were planned and built. Municipal water systems with
dams and pipe lines brought water from mountain springs and
streams to urban homes. Dams, turbines, and electric transmission
lines harnessed water power and conveyed it to where it could be
put to its greatest use.
With these industrial and agricultural developments, the popu-
lation increased rapidly toward stabilization and a general atmos-
phere of security prevailed. Civilization had come and appeared
permanent. But within a short time the first indications of im-
pending disaster appeared in the realization of a few men and
organizations that range depletion was occurring and would soon
be reflected in reduced carrying capacity, loss of soil fertility, then
loss of the soil itself, accompanied by devastating floods and un-
stable stream flow. These first indications were not particularly
striking or evident and it has only been within the last years that
general concern has been expressed. The permanency of these in-
dustrial and agricultural undertakings, whether it is realized or
not, is dependent on the restoration and maintenance of as nearly
virgin watershed conditions as possible within the catchment basins.
If these virgin conditions can be improved upon, so much the better.
For the most part, the point is now no longer argued that wide-
spread deterioration of range lands is resulting in destruction of
the soil cover. And the realization is growing that this soil cover
lias taken geological ages to produce and when once gone cannot
be reproduced by any man-made process.
SOIL FERTILITY DESTROYED
Long before the topsoil is completely removed, harmful changes
are wrought in its fertility and productivity, especially in the or-
ganic content of soil which is so essential to the absorptive and
water-holding processes and the nitrogen content which is a prime
requisite of plant growth.
328 THE WESTERN RANGE
The value of nitrogen and organic material in determining the
quantity and quality of plant growth produced on a given soil has
been amply demonstrated in agricultural practice. Their reappli-
cation to soils already robbed of them by erosion and leaching re-
sulted in a greater than 4-fold average annual increase in vegetation,
over a period of 9 years, in recent tests in Utah (137). Of vast
importance in range-forage production, they are the first elements
of the soil to be lost through erosion.
In Idaho, in a survey of the Boise River watershed, soil samples
taken from moderately depleted ranges, where erosion was barely
under way, contained only 77 percent as much nitrogen and organic
matter as soil from the virgin range; and soils from heavily de-
pleted ranges already badly eroded contained only 61 percent as
much nitrogen and 55 percent as much organic matter. In Utah,
studies showed surface soils from an overgrazed, eroded area con-
tained an average of 31 percent less nitrogen and 38 percent less
organic matter than soils from the adjacent protected Salt Lake
City watershed. When wheat was grown on both eroded and non-
eroded soils, but otherwise under exactly the same conditions 5.5
pounds of dry plant material was produced on a unit tract of eroded
soil and 12.1 pounds on noneroded soil. Nitrogen and organic mat-
ter in surface soil from lightly, moderately, and heavily eroded areas
in Davis County, Utah, were on the average 51 and 60 percent, 61
and 70 percent, and 75 and 84 percent deficient, respectively, as com-
pared with noneroded soil.
When the surface soil and its litter and humus layers are par-
tially destroyed, restoration of the range cover through the process of
plant succession is exceedingly slow; since each stage in the succes-
sion must have increasingly better soil conditions until at last the
climax range cover is attained. This slow process of soil building
through plant development is, however, not hopeless except in severe
eases of gullying and stripping where only geologic time can bring
about reclamation. Examples of the slow progress of rehabilitation
can be seen on certain areas on the national forests, which were
badly eroded at the time the forests were created and even after
more than 20 years of protection are still far from regaining the
grazing capacity of the virgin range. One of the main reasons for
this lag in productivity is deficient soil fertility.
IRRIGATION WATER SUPPLY AND IMPROVEMENTS THREATENED
Agricultural development of the West has been based largely on
the cultivation of the semiarid, fertile, and arable lowlands supplied
by life-giving streams from the more humid mountain areas (fig. 71).
Any modification of rate and quantity of run-off upon which
agricultural development is based is reflected in crop production,
and as agriculture is built for the most part upon the best possible
stream flow from the virgin watershed, the changes which have taken
place are inevitably for the worse. If little water from melting snows
is absorbed, extremely high peak flows result in the spring, at a season
when irrigation is not needed. Indispensable irrigation water is
poured out onto the waste lands or into the sea and lost. If the run-
off from summer storms rages forth from the canyons as floods, farms
IN WATERSHED PROTECTION
329
and communities, which by force of circumstances are located in
floodable areas, will be devastated.
In other words, irrigated farming is based on usable run-off and if
adequate reservoir capacity is not available, requires naturally con-
trolled stream flow to sustain it properly. Natural flow of streams,
however, by no means furnishes sufficient water to make all the fertile
H *g
PS a*
8 2 .
S -3
C5 -M
3 P
^ I^sSlil
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!-2g>'S
-8 ^/ a >
si^il 8 ?
op .g^-S^-s*
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desert land blossom into productivity. Frequent water shortages
occur in all Western States. Efforts are being made to overcome
these shortages as rapidly as possible by building storage facilities
where suitable reservoir sites are available to catch and hold surplus
stream flow when it is not needed and release it when the parching
fields require more than would otherwise be provided. The very con-
siderable regulation of stream flow brought about by these improve-
ments has been the means of stimulating agricultural development in
many sections where it would have been impossible otherwise. Diver-
330
THE WESTERN RANGE
sion ditches and canals to conduct the water from rivers and streams
help complete the reclamation undertaken.
These irrigation structures of one kind or another in the range-
land States made possible the production of crops valued at nearly
$900,000,000 (169) in the single year of 1929. The maintenance of
the tremendous investment (table 59) in these works at maximum
efficiency is a paramount consideration. A greater share of the stream
flow upon which the irrigation depends is from the high mountain
areas (fig. 72) , many of which have been under national-forest admin-
istration for 30 years, thus insuring a measure of protection to the
natural stream flow. The resources of the intermediate and lower and
in some localities the higher elevational zones, however, have not been
under administration. These have suffered much depletion of their
plant cover from overgrazing and fire. As a consequence both the
permanent and intermittent streams issuing from them are silt laden.
TABLE 59. Acreage of irrigated land, together ivith value of Iqnd, buildings, and
machinery, and the value of irrigation improvements for irrigated farms in
Western range-land States *
State
Irrigated area
Value of land,
buildings, and
machinery
Value of reser-
voirs and distri-
bution systems
1. Arizona
Acres
575, 590
Dollars
157, 290, 710
Dollars
73, 328, 197
2. California
4 746, 632
2, 535, 075, 016
450 967 979
3. Colorado ._
3, 393, 619
414, 180, 910
87, 663, 240
4. Idaho
2, 181, 250
316, 649, 034
84, 500, 354
6. Kansas *.
71, 290
13, 095, 069
1, 685, 652
6. Montana .
1, 594, 912
205, 027, 415
50, 319, 204
7. Nebraska....
532, 617
91, 773, 733
21, 386, 319
8. Nevada .
486, 648
63, 998, 051
15, 457, 931
9. New Mexico
527, 033
93, 160, 485
19, 834, 380
10. North Dakota
9,392
1, 452, 335
1, 267, 314
11. Oklahoma
1,573
1, 771, 383
160, 099
12. Oregon .
898, 713
171,919,001
38, 754, 548
13. South Dakota
67, 107
11, 576, 300
4, 502, 117
14. Texas. ..
798, 917
190, 141, 304
49,022,164
15. Utah
1, 324, 125
212, 258, 249
35, 669, 819
16. Washington.
499, 283
208, 738, 027
40, 561, 895
17. Wyoming
1, 236, 155
129, 692, 058
35, 153, 187
Total
18 944 856
4, 817, 799, 078
1, 010, 174, 399
iFrom Fifteenth Census (159).
CRITICAL CONDITIONS IN THE SOUTHWEST
At the present time a most critical situation from the irrigation
and maintenance of irrigation improvement standpoints exists in the
Southwest. This is true for three broad reasons : First, because such
large portions of the southwestern watersheds are in the zones which
have been badly depleted by unrestricted grazing; second, because
the prevailing soil types are very susceptible to erosion; and third,
because so many storage dams and diversion works are needed, creat-
ing an immense capital investment in the irrigation enterprise. Two
of the most active expressions of the situation are seen in the devas-
tating floods which occur and the growth of silt deposits in reservoirs
and other irrigation works.
In this region small floods frequently wipe out individual farms
and homes, and larger floods that inundate and spread destruction
over entire communities are comparatively frequent. The irrigation
WATERSHED PROTECTION
331
district in the Palo Verde Valley (148) on the Colorado Kiver in
California is often menaced by floods, a single one in 1922 causing
damage estimated at $1,000,000. To combat the flood threat this dis-
trict had, up to 1931, spent $2,400,000 on flood-protection work. The
Timbered watersheds practically
unused for grazing
Principal water-yielding grazed
areas (&5^of water of major streams)
Area contributing an appreciable
amount of silt to streams
Area eroding but not contributing
materially to silt in streams
MILES
FIGURE 72. IMPORTANT WATER- YIELDING AND SILT-PRODUCING AREAS.
Of the area yielding 85 percent of the flow of major streams, approximately 183,000,000
acres is grazed, 60,000,000 acres of which is contributing an appreciable amount of silt
to streams. An additional 292,000,000 acres of range lands are also contributing
appreciable quantities of silt to major streams. This means that the watershed utility
is being impaired and that river beds, storage reservoirs, ditches, and canals are filling
and clogging until their efficiency is seriously threatened.
lower Rio Grande Valley (151) in Texas and Mexico suffers also
from floods at more or less frequent intervals. One occurring in
1932 practically wiped out flood-protection improvements costing ap-
proximately $5,000,000 and caused damage to other property esti-
mated at $1,000,000 on the American side of the river alone.
332 THE WESTERN RANGE
The life of several storage reservoirs in the Southwest is being"
threatened by silt deposits which result from accelerated erosion in
their catchment basins. Such rivers as the Colorado normally trans-
ported considerable silt in suspension, but denudation of the virgin*
range cover has aggravated the problem tremendously. In New
Mexico the McMillan Reservoir on the Pecos River has been so com-
pletely silted that the dam is valuable only for diversion. Also in
New Mexico the capacity of the Elephant Butte Reservoir is being
reduced at the rate of approximately 20,000 acre-feet annually (73)..
The small Austin Reservoir in Texas, with an original capacity of
32,029 acre- feet, was filled almost completely with silt in 13 years
(HO). The new Boulder Dam is threatened with silting also, and
on the basis of recent measurements ($4) it is estimated it will fill
with eroded material in about 220 years; its effective life from the
water-storage standpoint will pass much sooner, if the silt load of the
Colorado River is not reduced.
Deposition of silt in irrigation canals that must carry a steady and
adequate flow of water to insure success of crops is a major problem
in some localities. For instance, in the highly developed Imperial
Valley of California, where crops valued at nearly $25,000,000 were
produced in 1929 (159) alone, the estimated average annual, cost of
silt disposal and control was $1,330,000, the average annual cost to
individual farmers being estimated at $2 per acre (54)
Silting of canals and reservoirs means not only the loss of the con-
struction investment, but also the developments in agriculture, power r
etc., dependent upon the stored water. If a new site can be found
and a new dam built, their added cost must be saddled upon the
already overburdened water users. Rebuilding of silted reservoirs is
not, therefore, a feasible or reasonable solution of the erosion prob-
lem. Where no other site is available, even this expensive cure is
impossible. The dependent industries must collapse and the depend-
ent population be uprooted and thrust out to seek new homes and
livelihoods.
What accelerated erosion and rapid run-off following deterioration
of plant cover caused by overgrazing may mean to community wel-
fare is well illustrated by a small area on the San Juan River between
Shiprock, N. Mex., and Bluff, Utah. Shortly after this region was
settled, in about 1880, the excellent grazing lands available in the
valley and surrounding mountains were stocked heavily with sheep r
cattle, and horses, and the prosperous little community of Bluff was
built up. At one time this town was reputed to have the greatest
per-capita wealth of any town in the United States. By 1935, how-
ever, drastic changes had been wrought in the range cover and in
the dependent community. The density of range vegetation had
decreased from an average of 58 percent to less than 4 percent ; one-
half of the agricultural lands had been eroded away ; damage from
floods and erosion estimated at approximately $780,000 had been
caused; 10 lives had been taken by flood waters; property was tax-
delinquent; and the village population had declined from 600 to 50
people. This community literally signed its own death warrant by
disregarding the consequences of range destruction.
The great gullies and sterile plains now in evidence on the Navajo
Indian Reservation (189) are further indications of the ravages of
IN WATEBSHED PROTECTION
.333
-water on depleted range lands in the Southwest. The very existence
of these Indians, scanty as it is, is threatened by accelerated and unre-
strained erosion. Water holes are drying up and floods are common.
Against the processes of erosion of his own making, the red man's
last stand is futile. Fortunately, in the last few years the plight of
.this tribe has been recognized, and Government agencies are endeav-
oring to restore the cover of vegetation and halt soil wastage.
THE COST OF WASTE WATER
The upper Colorado River Basin furnishes more than 85 percent
of the total flow of the Colorado River system. Nearly a billion
dollars of existing and potential developments are dependent on the
rflow of this river and its tributaries. Without question, where capi-
tal investments of such magnitude depend to a large degree upon
the flow of one river, its watershed must be carefully managed. If
the direct value of a billion-dollar investment is depreciated 20, or
-even only 10, percent by avoidable lack of control of stream flow, the
'financial loss is as inexcusable as it is appalling. The indirect social
and economic losses which cannot be measured in terms of dollars
would be even more striking, however, if they were fully understood,
since active soil erosion and floods attack the welfare not only of the
irrigationist near the headwaters of the stream, but also the citizen
of Los Angeles, who looks to the Colorado River to produce a portion
of his municipal water supply.
OCT. NOV. DEC. JAN. FEB. MAR. APR. MAY" JUNE" JULY ' AUG. SEPT.
REQUIREMENTS NATURAL STREAM FLOW
FIGURE 73. RELATION OF AVERAGE ANNUAL FLOW OF BOISE RIVER TO AC-
TUAL WATER REQUIREMENTS.
'Under present average watershed and stream-flow conditions, and with present storage
facilities on the Boise River, water is wasted (on the average) after April 1, when dams
are filled to capacity. By June 24 stored water must be used, and this use lasts until
August 22, after which a shortage occurs which results in an average annual loss in
fross income estimated at $1,914,800. Additional storage is economically impracticable,
f spring run-off were to be delayed by careful management of the watershed cover, less
of the peak flow would be wasted and more water would be available in the late summer
for maturing crops.
Where the demand for usable irrigation water far exceeds the
supply, as, for example, in southern Idaho, the need for careful man-
agement of watershed resources can be vividly illustrated. Under
such circumstances it is absolutely necessary that streams produce a
maximum flow in the most usable form. Figure 73 pictures normal
flow, the average actual flow as developed from stored water, and the
.average annual water shortage which arises on the Boise River. The
334
THE WESTERN RANGE
average annual waste of water down this river, owing to lack of
sufficient storage facilities, is approximately 448,000 acre-feet. On
June 24, on the average, the natural flow of the river drops below
requirements, and it is necessary to supply the deficiency from stored
water. The reservoirs which thus supplement the flow are drained,
on the average, by August 22. To provide for maximum-crop pro-
duction, however, water should be available through September in
a quantity of 272,632 acre-feet over and above the average flow dur-
ing this late-summer and early-autumn period.
Shortage-with
present peak flow
Shortage -with
delayed peak flow
100
THOUSANDS
200
OF ACRE -FEET
300
FIGURE 74. PRESENT AVERAGE ACTUAL WATER SHORTAGE, CONTRASTED
WITH SHORTAGE IF PEAK FLOW COULD BE DELAYED 10 DAYS.
If it were possible to so manage the plant cover of watershed lands as to delay peak flow
of the Boise River 10 days and indications are that some such delay might be accom-
plished the average annual shortage of water could be reduced 55 percent, making
additional water available at the season when it is badly needed.
Obviously two courses appear to be open to correct this situation
more storage or delayed spring run-off. Surveys have indicated that
additional storage facilities are economically unpractical. Accord-
ingly, delayed spring run-off appears to be the only feasible ap-
proach ; and while it cannot be definitely stated that intensive man-
agement will consummate this purpose on this already compara-
tively well-handled watershed, studies of absorption, penetration,
and retarded run^off made thus far; indicate that at least a more
satisfactory situation may be approached by properly controlling the
cover of vegetation, particularly that of the herbaceous and shrubby
plants. A 10-day delay in the peak flow, which would bring it
approximately at the peak of requirements, would result in an aver-
age annual shortage of only 123,000 acre-feet of water, instead of
the actual shortage of some 273,000 acre-feet (fig. 74) . This average
increase in available water, coming at a season when irrigation is
so urgently needed, would mean a material decrease in the $1,914,800
average annual loss in gross income that water shortage now causes.
The general theory of this discussion pertains to many watersheds of
the West, of which the Boise River is only one example upon which
data are available.
The proper management of the range coyer to delay run-off from
a specific watershed is not confined within the boundaries of the
watershed itself. Lowland areas of depleted plant cover entirely
outside the watershed may influence materially the yield of usable
water from a mountain watershed by contributing to early spring
dust storms. At the time that most serious dust storms originate,
the most important western watersheds are covered with a winter's
IN WATERSHED PROTECTION 335
accumulation of snow which should melt slowly to insure properly
regulated stream flow. However, when dust from depleted lowland
areas is deposited in the mountains, the snow cover melts perceptibly
faster. The dust cover on the snow absorbs heat from the sun rays
to a far greater degree than the snow surface itself. The effect is
that of placing a warm) blanket over the snow surface, and more
rapid run-off is the outcome. During the spring of 1934 this general
phenomenon was observed throughout the intermountain region.
It forcibly illustrated the conclusion that watershed protection is
not confined to watershed boundaries but is a regional problem.
COSTLY FLOODS
The importance of watershed resources is probably recognized more
fully in California and Utah than elsewhere in the West, largely as
the result of a series of catastrophes. In California the floods in and
around Los Angeles have brought home the realization that many
other communities have thus far missed that denudation of a water-
shed, regardless of cause, is a serious menace to life and property.
In the previously mentioned La Crescenta flood 30 lives were lost,
483 homes destroyed, and a total damage caused that was estimated
at $5,000,000. At present in this same locality 380,000 persons and
property valued at $300,000,000 are still directly subject to the ravages
of floods if the local watersheds are devegetated (45).
In Utah, devastating floods and mud-rock flows issuing from mis-
used watersheds along the Wasatch Mountain front have made the
entire State conscious of the consequences of range depletion. During
a 10-year period prior to 1934 damages conservatively estimated at
slightly more than $1,000,000 have been caused by such floods in the
small, intensively farmed section between Ogden and Salt Lake City.
The communities Centerville and Bountiful, adjacent to where
these floods occurred, recognized the value of a protected watershed
some years ago and gained control from private owners of the area
directly influencing them. Under their protective administration
the plant cover has been maintained, no floods have been experienced,
and a healthy feeling of security foreign to their less farsighted
neighbors is well established.
These examples might be multiplied many times over. As pre-
viously discussed, the flood situation is not limited to one locality.
Costly floods, in both life and property, occur every year in nearly
all parts of the range country as a consequence of depletion of the
protective vegetation.
MUNICIPAL WATERSHEDS
The necessity for the protection of watersheds furnishing water
for municipal use has been recognized almost universally where the
source of supply is relatively near to the point of consumption. As a
rule, the watersheds yielding water for cities of any size, such as
Salt Lake City and Denver, are either under municipal regulation or
are included in the national forests. The role of vegetation is rec-
ognized, and strict supervision of all activities on the watersheds is
enforced.
336= THE WESTERN KANGE
Cities drawing water from rivers and streams whose headwaters
are remote to them should be actively interested in seeing to it that
their watersheds are under the jurisdiction of a public agency inter-
ested in watershed protection. Civic growth and development are
limited by the amount of usable water available. It should be realized
that the building of a new factory or the exploitation of a new sub-
division may depend upon whether or not accelerated and uncontrolled
run-off and erosion are occurring on a watershed some few hundred
miles distant. For example, Los Angeles is vitally concerned with the
life of the Boulder Dam and the acceleration of erosion and run-off
on the Colorado River above it.
WATER POWER DEPENDS ON CONTINUOUS STREAM FLOW
Municipalities and industrial enterprises should be concerned with
the eventualities which face their supply of electricity generated by
water power. The water power resources of the West are one of
its greatest heritages, and it is not intimated that power shortages
eould arise, providing capital is available for their development.
But uncontrolled run-off and silting of dams may not only jeopard-
ize undepreciated investments but actually limit industrial and
domestic expansion because of the excessive costs of producing power
on new sites in more remote localities.
RECREATION AND WILDLIFE RESOURCES IMPERILED
To the millions of sportsmen, recreationists, and wildlife conserva-
tionists through the entire United States, the effect of accelerated,
heavily silt-laden run-off on the fish resources and recreational value
of mountain streams is of vital interest. Many recreationists have
returned to what they remembered as a permanent camping and fish-
ing paradise, only to find camp grounds eroded away, stream banks
freshly cut and denuded of vegetation, favorite fishing holes filled
with silt, moss-covered rocks of the stream-bed scoured clean by silt
and gravel, and fish that oncei tested their skill, gone. Gone not
because they had been hooked, but because the disturbance of their
native habitat and food supply had made existence impossible, or
because they had been washed from their holes and sheltered havens
by floods and mud flows. Game and fighting fish demand fairly
natural or virgin conditions of habitat and channeled and scoured
streambeds will inevitably cause migration or death.
The consequences of accelerated erosion on streams in and upon
which the fish and campgrounds are destroyed are broad. The
rural community or business enterprise suffers a declining tourist
trade, a source of income upon which more and more persons have
lately come to depend; and the recreationist, who is rapidly becom-
ing more prominent both in numbers and in his dependence on out-
door enjoyments is deprived of diversions essential to peace of mind,
health, and happiness.
Dust storms caused by the action of wind on denuded soil sur-
faces have already been mentioned. They have produced serious
IN WATERSHED PROTECTION 337
consequences during the past few years. Beginning in 1932, and
again in 1934 and 1935, great clouds of dust have rolled eastward
from the Great Plains owing to a combination of drought, wind, and
de vegetation which resulted from the attempt to cultivate true graz-
ing land. Abandoned farms now stand as ghostly evidence to man's
lack of regard for nature's balance and the vicissitudes of climate.
The physical and mental suffering involved have been appalling.
Homes have been deserted and a despondent yet virile farm popula-
tion thrust out to experience the hardships of seeking new homes in
a country lacking more unappropriated arable land. In general, the
dust storms of the past and the potential hazards of future ones
have made a considerable section of the Great Plains a less desirable
place in which to live for both the urban and rural dweller. Busi-
ness enterprises are insecure, farming hazardous and personal health
endangered.
Dust storms have arisen also from the range lands in the Great
Basin, Columbia River Plateau, and southwestern regions, and
although the local area affected has been much smaller, their conse-
quences are similar to the storms originating in the Great Plains.
CONTRASTING WATERSHED AND GRAZING VALUES
Although grazing is often considered the outstanding value of
range lands, watershed protection may be of even greater importance
on over half of the total range area. The grazing value of these
watershed lands seldom exceeds $3 per acre and is often less in their
present denuded condition. The actual value for watershed protec-
tion has never definitely been measured. Investments of over 5.8 bil-
lion dollars in irrigated land and improvements compare with about
4.1 billion invested in range livestock and private range lands and fa-
cilities used in their production. Of the 475 million acres of range
land making up either the important water-yielding or silt-contribut-
ing areas of major stream basins every acre supports an average in-
vestment of $12.27 in irrigation works, irrigated land, and facilities.
In addition these areas support millions of dollars invested in power
facilities which furnish electric light and power for cities and in-
dustry; a large part are on drainage areas which supply water to
thousands of communities.
The Boise River watershed in Idaho supports a dependent agri-
cultural investment in the valley of about 53 million dollars equal
to $32 for every watershed acre. The watershed of the Roosevelt
Reservoir, the storage basin of the Salt River project in Arizona,
supports an investment of $67 and a yearly production value, as of
1928, in agricultural crops and power of $9 for every watershed acre.
Silt accumulations in many important reservoirs of the West, pri-
marily the result of accelerated erosion caused by range depletion,
are threatening the permanency of the communities which such im-
provements have made possible. In the relatively short period of 17
years, 13 percent of the capacity of the Elephant Butte Reservoir in
New Mexico, for example, has been completely silted. The Rio
Grande channel, near Albuquerque, has become so choked that it will
cost over 10 million dollars to provide flood protection and drainage
works. These examples could be supplemented by many more, some
of which have already been given.
6494636 23
338 THE WESTERN RANGE
The extreme flood hazard of the West, under present conditions of
impaired watersheds, results annually in unjustified loss of life and
millions of dollars in property damage. The floods from depleted
watersheds of Davis County, Utah, wrought havoc in the valley
communities equivalent to $75 per acre for the entire watershed;
if this damage were prorated only on the denuded areas from which
the flood waters came, the losses would aggregate $1,245 per water-
shed acre. Had protective cover been there such damage would not
have resulted. High values have also been placed upon the steep
mountain brush-covered watershed lands of Los Angeles County,
Calif., where the value of services in water delivery and flood pro-
tection have been estimated at $300 per acre. Such destruction as
emanated in the La Crescenta flood on New Year's Day, 1934, from
an extremely small burned watershed area, clearly indicates the
great importance of maintaining the protective value of the vege-
tation on these steep mountain watersheds unimpaired.
Protection of these critical irrigation and other community values,
dependent on effective watershed maintenance, means more to the
West as a whole than the ranches and livestock dependent on the
watersheds for grazing or the value of the forage which these water-
sheds produce. If it should become necessary to choose between
exclusion of livestock for watershed protection and continuation of
grazing, unquestionably the only practical course would be to elimi-
nate grazing. However, if proper coordination of grazing and
watershed protection were provided, elimination of grazing from
watershed lands, except on relatively small areas, would not be
necessary. Many of the irrigated ranches owe their economic sound-
ness to the fact that range forage produced on the watershed lands
can be utilized by livestock fed part of the year on the ranch. The
outlying communities on these watershed lands also serve a useful
economic and social purpose. Continued grazing of these watersheds
under proper regulation is therefore desirable. Responsibility for
maintaining favorable watershed conditions on the several hundred
million acres of range lands, insofar as grazing use is concerned,
accordingly rests both with the livestock industry and the public.
THE WAY Our RESTORATION
Fortunately the destruction of the watershed resources of the vir-
gjin range has not as a whole proceeded to the point where the situa-
tion is hopeless. Certain bright spots are still scattered over the
entire West, and with these and the policies which have been applied
to them as a nucleus, a way out of the present dilemma is indicated.
Municipal watersheds which have been protected, certain privately
owned lands upon which productivity has been maintained, and
national forests which have been managed with watershed conserva-
tion as a major consideration, make up the favorable side of the
present picture. For the most part accelerated erosion and floods
offer no problem on these areas because of the suitable plant cover
which has been sustained or restored on them since they came under
their present ownership or control. On the national forests, as an
illustration, one of the most important responsibilities associated
with the administration of range lands has been their protection and
management as watersheds. This duty has been recognized since
IN WATERSHED PROTECTION
339
the creation of the forests, and fortunately for the sustained develop-
ment of the West, many important water-yielding areas are included
within their boundaries. At the time the Forest Service undertook
administration of the national forests, the cover on many watersheds
had been so severely depleted that erosion was rampant and floods
were common. Now, under a system of land management that has
watershed conservation as a basic principle, most of these eroding
areas have been improved and many have been rehabilitated
completely.
Reference has already been made to the Manti National b orest in
Utah where it has been said that at one time the number of bands of
sheep could be counted by the dust clouds which they raised. In-
evitably, these depleted ranges became eroded severely and floods
occurred. The settlement at Manti and others situated on the valley
floor experienced their first floods in 1888 after more than 30 years
of security. These first floods were followed by others more devas-
tating, until the effects of reduced stocking and regulated grazing
following the creation of the national forests began to be reflected
in a restored plant cover. Thus through protection and rehabilita-
tion erosion was halted, run-off was regulated as satisfactorily as pos-
sible under natural conditions, and floods, since 1910, have been
unknown.
The history of Forest Service administration of grazing land is
replete with such examples. Owing to the very badly depleted con-
dition of the ranges prior to the creation of the forests and the eco-
nomic demands upon the ranges since that time, erosion has not been
halted completely in every case, but enough has been done to make
it evident that control by vegetation is possible and feasible except
where erosion is extreme.
Although climate with its vicissitudes of drought, torrential
storms, and excessive precipitation ; topography with varying degrees
of slope; and soils with contrasting susceptibility to erosion, are
important factors in the stability of the watershed resources, the
plant cover of the range has been shown by conclusive research to be
the key to the situation and it is the only one that man can manipu-
late. Unwise use and lack of management on a large share of the
range lands have brought about the present state of depletion and
devastation and this misfortune must be corrected and improved.
Rehabilitation and continued maintenance of a plant cover is the
method whereby erosion scars can be healed, silt load of streams
reduced, and unregulated and flood-producing run-off controlled in
a manner that will yield the maximum quantity of usable water.
The western United States stands today at the crossroads and
must choose between controlled management of its vast area of un-
regulated grazing land or continued exploitation and eventual devas-
tation. The latter course leads to a China or Syria, with accessible
range and forest land almost totally devastated and inundating
floods of common occurrence. The other leads to conditions similar
to those in many nations of Central Europe, where efficient land
management policies are practiced to conserve and protect the water-
sheds. Without doubt the efficacy and desirability of the road to
proper and conservative management has been demonstrated by the
history and present status of these contrasting nations. Cannot
America profit by this experience?
AS A HOME FOR WILDLIFE
By L. J. PALMER, Principal Forest Ecologist, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range
Experiment Station, and S. B. SHOW, Regional Forester, California Region
THE WILDLIFE PROBLEM
Within the limitations set by the needs of civilization for lands
and waters formerly supporting game and fish, the two problems of
coordinate importance in wildlife conservation are to work toward
the opportunity for hunting and fishing characteristics of earlier
days, and to rebuild the formerly abundant opportunities for es-
thetic enjoyment of wildlife. The solution of the first problem re-
duced to terms of practical achievement has three important phases :
First, to restore total population of game birds, game and fur-bear-
ing animals, and game fish to a level that will make hunting, fishing,
and trapping more generally available than they are now; second,
to accomplish the widest possible geographic distribution of this
population that is, ready availability to hunters and fishermen;
third, to increase largely the total area on which hunting and fishing
at a nominal charge or no charge for the privilege will give oppor-
tunity to the multitudes who cannot afford the luxury of costly field
sport.
Solution of the second problem, perpetuation of nongame species
and the making available of game species for esthetic enjoyment and
observation, on the whole is less difficult and requires less ingenuity
than the task of bringing back takable game and fish.
The range lands make up well over one-third of the total area of
the country; and are the least complicated by permanent human
occupancy of any considerable area. Potentially, therefore, they rep-
resent a major opportunity to develop fish and game populations.
To understand what these possibilities are, the nature of the biologi-
cal background for wildlife production and management must be
sketched.
WILDLIFE A PRODUCT OF ENVIRONMENT
Wildlife is a product of land and environment, just as are trees,
shrubs, or grass. That animal species possess varying degrees of
mobility at times obscures but does not alter this fact.
The essential requirements of feed, water, and shelter vary for each
species, and are, to a high degree, specific characters determining the
range i. e., the environment which a species finds suitable. Large
groups of both animals and birds, for example, are meat eaters;
others are herb eaters; some groups require heavy cover, while others
are dwellers in the open. Popular, and to some extent scientific,
classification recognizes these inherent characteristics.
The relative inflexibility of the demands of many species for
habitats with certain combinations of climate, cover, and water is
illustrated by the large number of species found only within indi-
341
342 THE WESTERN RANGE
vidual areas of uniform environment. The species that are so
biologically adaptable as to succeed in a wide diversity of environ-
ment are in the minority.
The adaptation to, and dependence upon, particular total environ-
ments has been found, for many species, to tie to key factors. For
example, some woodpecker species will nest only in dead trees, and
a forest without snags is for them an unacceptable environment.
Thus the process of organic evolution through which each species
developed a certain combination of requirements, narrowly or broadly
limited as the case might be, results in a total wildlife population in
natural balance within itself and with its environment. Within a
given habitat the struggle for existence between strong and weak
individuals of a species, and between species, produces such a pattern
and wealth of wildlife as the early explorers found in the western
range country.
When white men first pushed their way into the western range
they found a land rich in natural resources. Early accounts of ex-
ploration and settlement repeatedly mention the abundant forage
and wildlife ; for example, in writing of his journey across the Plains
in the summer of 1858, Hayden (71) found the prairies clothed with
luxuriant growth of grass and literally alive, as far as the eye could
reach, with vast herds of grazing buffalo. Reports of first settle-
ment in California tell of countless thousands of deer, elk, antelope,
and quail seen in the foothills and valleys, and of the myriads of
waterfowl in the lakes and marshes.
In Montana, so the journal of the Lewis and Clark expedition of
1804 to 1806 (37, v. 1) records, the valleys of the upper Missouri and
Yellowstone supported an aggregation of game animals that for
number and variety exceeded anything elsewhere that the eye of man
has ever looked upon. The story of the Northwest is one of abundant
wildlife, particularly of beaver and other fur bearers, of fur brigands
competing in the wilderness for the largest catch of furs, and of an
enormous fur trade. In the Southwest an abundance of antelope
over large areas was particularly noted ; and in the Rocky Mountain
region there was an equal abundance of deer, antelope, wild chickens,
and fish. Only in parts of Nevada and Utah, the heavily timbered
country of Idaho, and extreme western Montana was a scarcity of
game recorded.
It is natural that the early accounts should emphasize the game
species, both of land animals and fish, for the food and lives of the
early explorers often depended on them. In nongame country, such
as that encountered by Lewis and Clark in the Selway River coun-
try of Idaho, explorers were forced to eat their dogs to live. But
later expeditions, scientific in character, found that the nongame
species of this relatively undisturbed environment were actually
numerous.
How REDUCTION IN RANGE AREA AND ITS DEPLETION REDUCED
WILDLIFE
Range depletion, following the rapid occupation of the range
quantity of for-
Avzmge uepietiuii, lunuwiiig tiie rapm ucuupauu _
country and its violent subjugation to man's use, signified, in its
effect on wildlife, not merely reduction in the total
AS A HOME FOR WILDLIFE 343
age available, but also practical elimination of many plant species
valuable for grazing animals, invasion by worthless species, starting
of widespread erosion, destruction of springs and streams, reduction
of soil fertility and destruction of essential cover. This is equiva-
lent to saying that profound changes in environment occurred, even
where the land was not turned to crop use. The wild land environ-
ment, both range and forest, was altered to an extent and at a pace
that were catastrophic to its native inhabitants. Progressive drain-
age of the innumerable small lakes and ponds of western Nebraska
and other Plains States destroyed a major breeding ground for
waterfowl. Destruction of cover by fire and grazing in the lower
hills of the California central valley began the process of restricting
the range of the valley quail. The natural balance between summer
and winter ranges was disrupted. The advance of civilization, ex-
pressed in the taming of the desert and wilderness, the conversion
of range into crop land, and especially the depletion of remaining
range lands, worked havoc with the natural environments of wild-
]ife, restricting areas available to it, destroying its feed and water,
and deteriorating its habitats.
RESTRICTION OF AREA AVAILABLE FOR WILDLIFE
Use of the better range lands for crop production, reclamation of
submarginal lands, of waters, the disposal of lands by the States for
immediate revenue, the transfer of lands into private ownership
without restrictions on mode of use, ajid dry farming on submar-
ginal lands, often ending in abandonment, have removed or destroyed
areas formerly available for wildlife. Generally, settlement for crop
agriculture was necessary and inevitable, but in other instances it
has not proved to be economically successful. The abandonment of
submarginal croplands has left in its wake considerable areas on
which cover has been destroyed through plowing or other disturb-
ance. Elsewhere, the continued use of poor lands, an economic
loss in human effort, is resulting in injury to wildlife through re-
moval of cover that with efficient use of the land, would have been
available to wildlife.
The reduction in total area available to game would be serious
enough in directly reducing populations, were it not for the loss of
vital seasonal range areas, particularly winter ranges once so
abundant.
Prior to settlement, buffalo and antelope occupied the plains and
valleys; deer, elk, and mountain sheep were found in the foothills;
and mountain goats preferred the inner fastnesses of the mountains.
Deer and elk often summered on the foothills and lower mountain
slopes and migrated to the plains and valleys for the winter, particu-
larly when snows were heavy. Occupation of the lowlands by com-
munities, fenced ranches, and livestock took over this natural winter
range of game and forced them back into the mountains or onto
remnants of their former range on the plains. Most of our big game
animals today are found in the mountainous areas to which they are
not especially well adapted, at least for year-long grazing.
344 THE WESTERN RANGE
RANGE DEPLETION
The forage stand on the principal forage types used by game dur-
ing the critical seasons has been depleted over 50 percent in com-
parison with its virgin condition.
Overgrazing by livestock of the remaining winter game ranges in
the foothills and plains has had the further effect of crowding the
game onto mountain forest areas that are essentially summer range.
Here the game was and often is forced into a less suitable environ-
ment in lower reaches of its former summer domain for winter feed-
ing. The forage on many of these areas on the national forests has
been reserved for game use, but the bulk of its winter range is under
other control or in private ownership and migrating herds find the
meager forage supply so vitally needed for wintering already
cropped by domestic livestock.
This factor, coupled with the reduced range area, results in star-
vation and excessive loss from predators in severe winters. At such
times ranchers have frequently divided their scanty hay supply with
the game to relieve starvation. This situation applies generally
throughout the range country. A specific example is in Montana,
where it is estimated that in seasons of deep snow less than 5 per-
cent of the gross national-forest area is available to game. This is
so inadequate that an estimated 70 percent of the deer and elk are
forced outside the forests in critical winters. Here, because of
depleted forage on public domain and private ranges, many of them
invade farm pastures and hay stacks, in order to survive.
Many instances illustrate the effects upon elk and deer herds of
this restricted and depleted winter range. For example, the winters
of 1930-31 and 1931-32 are estimated to have brought death to nearly
35 percent (and as high as 75 percent in some localities) of western
Montana's deer ; during the winter of 1932-33, on the South Fork of
Flathead, 500 elk starved or were killed.
The two most obvious and glaring examples are the Sun River
and the northern (or Yellowstone) elk herds. On Sun River, in
the Lewis and Clark National Forest of Montana, a herd of elk on
the Sun River game preserve was built up over a series of favorable
winters to about 4,600 animals. This was a larger number than the
available winter range could normally support. During winters of
deep or crusted snow, such as that of 1919-20, feed areas were re-
duced to a few ridges blown bare of snow and isolated pockets or
strips supporting browse on or near stream courses. In the fall of
1930 heavy storms drove a big proportion of the herd to the valleys,
where 1,070 head were shot down by men and women on foot and
on horseback, in farm wagons, and in city automobiles. Subsequent
losses from starvation on the limited range area were very heavy, and
by 1934 it was doubtful if the herd numbered more than 3,000 elk.
The northern elk herd, enjoying nearly 15 years of favorable
weather conditions, increased to more than 15,000 by the fall of 1919.
But that winter heavy snows fell early, forcing the animals down to
range already cropped short by domestic stock. A toll of some 4,000
head was immediately taken by hunters. But as the winter advanced
and snows became deeper and badly crusted, the slaughter during
the hunting season was a merciful thing compared to the suffering
AS A HOME FOR WILDLIFE 345
and loss which took place until spring brought relief. The winter
of 1922-23 was also bad, and by the spring 1923 it was estimated
that this herd which 3^ years earlier had numbered more than
15,000 was down to 8,000 or 9,000 head.
A further effect of range depletion is seen in the competition be-
tween two or more wildlife species through overcrowding. Thus on
the Sitgreaves National Forest in Arizona the increasing numbers
of a planted elk herd are competing more and more with mule deer
in the use) of winter range to the disadvantage of the deer. If the
elk are allowed to continue increasing, it will be only a matter of
time until the deer are exterminated, since the taller elk can reach
higher on the juniper, a favorite elk and deer forage, and therefore
can get food in winter after none is left within reach of the deer.
This situation similarly applies to the Blue Mountain region of Ore-
gon where the increasing elk are threatening to drive out the deer
because of competition for forage on a depleted winter range.
Deterioration of habitat, through depletion of the range has fur-
thermore resulted in decrease of upland game birds. A good exam-
ple of this is in the thinning out of quail in the San Joaquin Valley
region of California. Quail formerly inhabited the valley by the
thousands, and the finest part of their habitat was in the brushy foot-
hills. Overgrazing of these foothill areas and the extensive use of
fire in an effort to improve forage has destroyed much of the peren-
nial herbaceous vegetation and low shrubs that furnished not only
cover but also food for the quail. The result is an estimated decrease
of birds of 25 to 30 percent within the last 15 years. Decrease of
quail for similar reasons has taken place at other points, such as
along the Rio Grande and in the desert and semidesert areas of
Arizona.
Whether the process of range depletion was accompanied by in-
crease in species destructive to the range is uncertain. But at the
least, the relative importance of rodents is greater on depleted than
on normal range.
Rodents do a great deal of damage to the range in destruction of
forage and therein are a contributing factor in reducing wildlife
and impeding livestock production. Rodent damage looms large
as a factor on ranges of the Southwest. For instance, Taylor (HI)
states :
In some of our northern Arizona fenced plots, rodents, chiefly prairie dogs,
have consumed, cut down, or prevented from growing, 69 percent of the blue-
stem, 81 percent of the blue grama, and 100 percent of the sand dropseed.
In southern Arizona Rothrock grama and associated grasses in fenced plots
have been reduced by jack rabbits and other rodents by 35 to 81 percent.
A single kangaroo-rat burrow may contain a's much, as 50 bushels
of grass seed and there are at times as many as 10 to 12 burrows to
the acre. In drought periods when all feed is needed by livestock
as well as game and other valuable wildlife, such hoarding'by rodents
brings about an extremely critical condition. All feed may be ex-
hausted months before new growth can come, increasing starvation
losses of livestock and impairing the vigor of wildlife species.
Although settlement of the West has not been unfavorable to ani-
mals and birds in every case as, for instance, a large increase in
bobwhite that is evidently the result of the prairies being turned to
346 THE WESTERN RANGE
farm use. The net effect of profound and widespread alteration
of environment is beyond doubt a breaking up of the distribution
of many animal and bird species, so that mere islands remain; a
reduction in the population per unit of area on lands still occupied ;
an exodus of the remaining individuals to less favorable environ-
ment ; an upset of the balance between species.
OTHER CHANGES IN HABITAT
Destruction of former breeding areas by drainage combined with
overshooting and the deterioration of feeding conditions by recur-
rent drought have brought waterfowl to a precarious state (41).
Added losses attributable to misuse of land are being brought about
by poisoning from a form of botulism, caused by the toxin produced
by a common bacterium. The factors making favorable conditions
for this causative organism are inadequate water supply and fluctu-
ating water levels resulting in the creation, during periods of hot
weather, of alkaline sinks and areas of shallow, stagnant water,
mud flats, and their associated decaying organic matter in which
toxin may be produced. Botulism in 1932 caused an estimated loss
of one-quarter of a million birds at the north end of Great Salt
Lake (80). Losses occurred at many other points within the range
area but not to such extent as in the Utah-Idaho region. The range
area lies in the path of two major waterfowl fly ways of North
America (fig. 75) and therefore is particularly important to water-
fowl for furnishing food and resting places enroute.
The drainage of so many ponds, lakes, and marshes in the Plains
States has wiped out most of the local breeding grounds for water-
fowl, and much of the land drained has proved to be of very limited
agricultural value. In fact, efforts are now being made to restore
some of the 5,483,524 acres (158) that have been drained within the
range area.
Likewise, because of reduced area by drainage and occupation
of other submarginal lands, together with excessive trapping, fur
bearers have been greatly reduced in numbers with consequent eco-
nomic loss. As a general picture, F. G. Ashbrook, of the United
States Bureau of Biological Survey, 38 states:
The most amazing thing is that with a $500,000,000 annual turn-over in the
retail fur trade even as late as 1929, no one should have started long ago to
put the fur trade on a factual basis * * *. Already the annual retail turn-
over in furs has shrunken to $150,000,000, and the entire cause cannot be
attributed to droughts, floods, and the financial depression.
To point out an example of the value of fur animals as an annual
crop, speaking of swamp or marsh lands, Ashbrook further states:
At present market prices (1935), the return on an acre from muskrat pelts
alone would furnish an income of from $7 to $14 each season. No system
of cropping this type of land would produce as much.
Fish suffered major reduction to a similar degree, particularly as
range depletion reached an advanced stage. For example, many
streams of the Wasatch Range in Utah originally had populations
of native trout. Silting of the streams, brought on by overgrazing,
88 Ashbrook, P. G. Fur resources the stepchild of conservation. An address at the
Sixth Annual National Retail Furrier Convention and Trade Exposition, held at Buffalo,
N. Y., July 1935. 4 pp. 1935. [Mimeographed.]
AS A HOME FOE WILDLIFE
347
FIGDEB 75. Two principal waterfowl flyways through the range country emphasize the
need for an adequate cover to provide watershed protection. The flyway lane in
each case is indicated by heavy lines and the tributary migration routes are shown by
arrows. Upper, Pacific flyway; lower, central flyway. (From "The Waterfowl Flyways
of North America", U. S. Dept. Agr. Circ. 342.)
348 THE WESTERN RANGE
had by the early eighties destroyed the fish, not only by deteriora-
tion of habitat, but also by killing the stream-bank vegetation
through the medium of which the food supply was partly pro-
vided. The process of halting erosion through conservative range
management was begun about 1905, when the national forests were
created, but it was 1920 before the environment was sufficiently
restored so that trout could again be established. Several of the
Montana streams have gone through a similar cycle of natural
balance an initial disturbance of cover by overgrazing or fire ; then
erosion, resulting in fouled streams and the destruction of stream-
bank vegetation and of fish ; and finally control of grazing, stopping
of erosion, gradual reestablishment of stream-bank vegetation, and
restoration of fish.
Reduction of water flows through diversion for power irrigation
and municipal use together with a lack of adequate screening at
diversion points has resulted in a heavy loss of fishing water and
fish. In many places this problem exceeds in importance that of
factors resulting from man's use of the land but is much less difficult
of solution.
EFFECT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES INTENSIFIED BY OVERUTILIZA-
TION OF WILDLIFE RESOURCE
Reduction in wildlife was both heavy and rapid, as an inevitable
consequence of range depletion and agricultural occupation; but
coupled with it went overutilization of game and fish. The early
attitude toward usable species of wildlife was no different from the
pioneers' attitude toward land, trees, or grass. It was something to
be taken and used, without let or hindrance.
The susceptibility to attack of different game species varied
enormously. The buffalo was perhaps the most vulnerable, because
of its habit of herding, its slow speed, and its existence in open
country. Its virtual extinction was a foregone conclusion, even if its
natural range had not been so heavily used for agriculture. Other
game species, such as the native deer, were far better able to survive
man's attacks. They did not congregate in herds. They were
speedy, and they lived in cover where concealment was easy.
It is impossible to give an exact or even an approximate estimate
of reduction in numbers of wildlife brought about by range depletion
and hunting, but the present picture is one of great diminution of all
forms, a restricted range, and unfavorable distribution. The re-
maining wildlife is overcrowded in some sections, scarce or wanting
in others, and for the most part confined to refuges, national forests,
parks, and preserves. Extreme cases serve to dramatize the situa-
tion. The buffalo for the entire United States are reduced from
former millions to an estimated 4,400 39 confined to a semidomestic
state on reservations. One species of white-tailed deer which for-
merly roamed western Washington is known to have become extinct
in modern times (141}- The last white- tailed deer disappeared
from Yellowstone Park during the winter of 1923-24 (ISO) . It has
been nearly exterminated in Oregon and its ranks thinned to alarm-
39 Figures furnished by U. S. Biological Survey, according to a census taken by the
" by is
American Bison Society issued under date of Jan. 1, 1934 (56).
AS A HOME FOE WILDLIFE 349
ing extent in Washington. The prong-horned antelope is still scarce
or absent over vast areas in the Southwest where it was formerly
abundant, although it is generally on the increase on and near
refuges and reservations within the range areas as a whole. Where
estimated as formerly numbering not less than 30 to 40 millions, and
possibly more (92), antelope now total only about 66,000 40 for the
entire United States, approximately 60,000 being within the range
area.
Mountain sheep, moose, and grizzly bear are comparatively few
and barely holding their own. (See tables 62 and 63.) Elk and
mule deer are suffering from serious overstocking on restricted winter
ranges with other areas generally understocked. Elk were so re-
duced in numbers as recently as 1904 that it was believed that the
only way to preserve them was to try to domesticate them. Most
species of upland game birds and fur bearers are reduced to scatter-
ing remnants of former abundance and are continuing to decline.
Many former fish streams are depleted, and waterfowl have decreased
to such an alarming extent as to have aroused wide public concern
for the future supply.
Man early attacked the animal predators because they found in
flocks and herds of domestic stock a ready-at-hand source of feed.
The grizzly and the wolf succumbed, but other predators, such as
the coyotes and mountain lion, proved to have the biological adapta-
bility needed to insure success in the fight for existence.
REDUCED WILDLIFE PRESENTS AN IMPORTANT AND NEGLECTED PROBLEM
Game especially is of direct economic value not only for food but
also because hunters, fishermen, and others attracted by its presence
bring money into the community. From the viewpoint of national
economics, our wildlife resource represents an annual income running
into millions of dollars, which is capable of further increase through
intelligent management. The harvesting of the annual crop of
game thus forms the basis of an extensive commerce.
The annual value of meat and fur in the range area is estimated at
more than $87,250,000 and the value of fish at appro 
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